Most merchants obsess over their processing rate and never think about funding speed: how fast the money from a sale actually lands in their bank account. For a business running on cash flow, that timing is its own hidden cost. Here's what the terms mean and why they matter.
When your money sits in processing for two or three days, a few things happen:
For a high-volume counter business, the difference between three-day and same-day funding can mean tens of thousands of dollars in working capital freed up at any given moment.
Every funding promise has a cutoff: a time of night by which your terminal has to be closed out. Beat it and your money moves on the fast schedule. Miss it and you have quietly been bumped to the next one, no matter what the program is called.
This is the one question worth asking any processor: what time is my cutoff, and what happens if I close after it? A straight answer is easy to give. If you get a vague one, that tells you something too.
For most counter businesses the cutoff is not hard to beat, because it falls in the small hours and you close well before it. A liquor store that closes at eleven and a bar that closes at two are both comfortably inside it. What catches people out is not the clock, it is forgetting to close out at all: a terminal left open overnight has not sent anything to the bank, so nothing lands the next morning. Close out every night and the rest takes care of itself.
How fast you get paid depends on a few things: closing out before the daily cutoff, the kind of account you are on, and which bank your account sits with. It's not automatic for every merchant or every transaction, which is why it's worth confirming the specifics for your business rather than assuming. A straight answer about your funding schedule is something every processor should be able to give you.
Pacta merchants close out at the end of the night and the money is in the bank the same business day, on qualifying accounts. Not two to three days, and no surprise holds on standard accounts.
We will not quote you a clock time, and you should be suspicious of anyone who does. What time your money shows up depends on your bank, and any processor promising you a specific hour is promising something they do not control. What we will tell you is the schedule your account is actually on, in writing, before you sign. Money does not move on weekends or federal holidays, which is true everywhere and worth saying out loud.
Combined with dual pricing keeping card fees out of your pocket, that's more money, arriving on a schedule you can plan around.
Want this run on your actual numbers? Hop on a call and we'll show you exactly what you're paying, and what you'd keep with Pacta. Schedule a 30-minute call → Or call (214) 972-2423.