Payments
Rolling reserve
A rolling reserve is a percentage of a merchant's transactions withheld by a payment processor for a defined period to cover potential chargebacks and refunds. Funds are released on a rolling schedule once the period expires.
In plain terms: A slice of every payment held back for months as insurance against disputes.
Why it matters
Common for new accounts and higher-risk categories, and a genuine cash-flow constraint. A 10% reserve held for 90 days means roughly a month of revenue is permanently in transit while the business is growing.
Read the full guideGetting paid