Summary A look at the timescales involved in releasing funds. Releasing funds takes time. Bureau solutions take longer than Person-to-Person solutions, which take longer than PSP The complimentary e-payments diagnostic tool will help you to choose the best solution and will also calculate the cost on a time value of money basis to give you a true cost comparison.

When taking online payments it is important to know how long different solutions take to release funds to the merchant.

• Bureau solutions generally take the longest – up to 60 days to release funds to the merchant.
• Alternative payment methods like mobile commerce will release funds on average after 15 days.
• Person-to-person payment solutions operate on a 4-5 day schedule, although this may be longer if international payments are required.
• PSP - acquiring solutions allow the merchant access to the fund in the quickest time - Normally the acquirer will only take 3 days to clear the funds from the credit card.

Funds may seem to take longer to clear when using a bureau but you as the merchant will see that a customer has paid you within seconds of viewing the bureau’s Internet accessible control and account screens – even if you don’t see the cash for 60 days. This could be useful when negotiating cash flow issues with your bank manager.

And remember: The tool will tell you what sort of time to expect from a solution.

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