Settlements
How Ozow pays what you have collected into your bank account: what a settlement contains, when it arrives, how to track it, and how it meets your float.
On this page5 sections
Build with AI 1 package
A build package is every page for one task, with the API operations they use. Copy the prompt into a coding assistant, or hand it the package itself: slim links to each page, full inlines all of them in one document.
- Reconcile a settlementEverything needed to match the money Ozow pays into your bank account against the payments you collected, line item by line item, including the fees that make the two differ.
A settlementSettlement Ozow paying the money you have collected into your bank account. Payins arrive at Ozow first and are settled to you on a schedule, so what a customer paid you today and what has been settled to you today are different amounts. is Ozow paying the money you've collected into your bank account.
When a customer pays you through Ozow, the funds may land with Ozow first. Ozow then groups those payments together, works out what you're owed, and transfers it to you. That transfer is a settlement.
Settlements apply to pay-ins only
Only money coming in gets settled. PayoutsPayout Money sent from a merchant to a bank account. Unlike a refund, a payout is not tied to a payment anyone made you, so you can pay anyone with a bank account. Payouts draw on your float rather than on your incoming payments, and they are not self-service: they need approval from Ozow and testing in staging first. and refunds move money the other way, out of your float, so they're never part of a settlement.
If you only send payouts and never collect payments, you won't have settlements at all.
Ozow has more than one settlement model. By default, funds from your payments are aggregated and then settled to you. Your arrangement is agreed during onboarding, so speak to your account manager if you're not sure which applies.
What's in a settlement
A settlement is the money you're owed from the payinPayin A payment made by a consumer to a merchant. The direction most of this site is about: money coming in. Its counterpart is a payout, which sends money out and is not tied to any payment anyone made you. transactions in that settlement period. Nothing is netted off it.
- Ozow fees are billed separately. They aren't deducted from your settlement.
- Refunds and payouts come out of your float, not your settlement.
Your settlement therefore reconciles against your completed payin transactions for the period.
When you get paid
Settlement timing depends on the payment method the funds came in through; they don't all settle on the same cycle. If you enable a new payment method, your settlement pattern may change.
Your specific settlement arrangement is confirmed during onboarding. If you're not sure what applies to your account, speak to your account manager.
Tracking settlements
Settlements have their own statuses, separate from transaction statuses. A transaction reaching
Complete means the customer's payment succeeded. It does not mean the money has reached your bank
account; the settlement status tells you that.
The two vocabularies use many of the same words, so check which one you're looking at before acting on it. See Transaction and settlement statuses.
You can view your settlements in the Ozow Dashboard or via API.
Settlements and your float
These are easy to confuse, and they move in opposite directions.
| Settlement | FloatFloat The balance held with Ozow that payouts and refunds are paid out of. Both draw on it, and neither will process while it is empty. Payins do not need one, so if you only take payments you never meet it. | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Ozow pays you | You pay Ozow |
| What it's for | Paying out what you've collected | Funding refunds and payouts |
| Applies to | Pay-ins | Payouts and refunds |
If you process refunds or payouts, you need a funded float; a settlement won't cover them. See Float top-up.
Last updated