Settlement is the process by which funds are transferred from GoPay to the merchant's bank account. At the same time the fees for the payments received are deducted. How does this process work and what can affect the settlement?
In this article you will learn:
how a payment in an e-shop works
how the money travels between the customer, GoPay and you
how settlement works
the features of settlement
an explanation of parameter D
a link to the article Why is settlement not happening on my account and other useful links
How a payment in an e-shop works
To understand settlement, it is first necessary to recall how a payment through GoPay works from the e-shop's point of view:
Payment
The customer makes a payment at the merchant's portal through the payment gateway.Payment authorisation
GoPay passes the payment information for authorisation. During authorisation the customer's bank confirms whether the customer has enough money in their account and whether the payment can take place. If everything is in order, the payment is approved.Issuing of funds
The balance on the merchant's GoPay business account is then increased. At the same time GoPay informs both the customer and the merchant of the result of the authorisation.
How the money travels
The electronic funds on the GoPay business account are not real money. They are only an equivalent of real money in the GoPay world.
Transfer of money from the customer's bank to GoPay's bank
Shortly after the payment is authorised, GoPay receives a bank advice note from the customer's bank. This is information telling GoPay that it can expect the customer's bank to send money in the amount of the authorised payment to GoPay's bank account. The money is actually credited to GoPay's bank account, and the authorised payment thus covered, within a few hours – in some cases even a few days – depending on the type of payment and the time of payment.GoPay settlement
To make it possible to settle the money received, we carry out what is known as settlement at GoPay. In this process GoPay adds up the funds the merchant has received on their GoPay business account, deducts the fees for its services and summarises the result in a settlement document. Settlement is always carried out for a particular period.Transfer of money from GoPay's bank to the merchant's bank
Once the settlement has been carried out, GoPay submits an order to pay out real money in the sum given by the settlement to the merchant's bank account. Depending on whether the settlement was carried out automatically or manually by the merchant, the money is then paid out from GoPay's bank to the merchant's bank. At the same time, the balance of funds on the merchant's GoPay business account is reduced by the amount settled, including GoPay's fee.
💡 GoPay tip: How long does it take to transfer money from GoPay's bank to the merchant's bank?
With an intrabank transfer, e.g. from Komerční banka to Komerční banka, the transfer is fast – in practice you receive the money within a few minutes of the order being sent.
With an interbank transfer, where the transfer is between two different banks (e.g. from Komerční banka to Moneta), the money moves more slowly. Payments are credited the day after the order is sent.
Features of GoPay settlement
What affects how settlement works at GoPay?
Settlement frequency
The basic feature of settlement is its frequency, i.e. how often and for what period it takes place.
Settlement can take place daily, weekly or monthly. The starting day of weekly and monthly settlement is taken to be the calendar day preceding the day the merchant started operating the gateway.
If settlement takes place according to a daily, weekly or monthly frequency, we say that it takes place automatically.
In addition, the merchant can carry out a settlement at any time – then we speak of a manual settlement. A manual settlement has no frequency, so it is not possible to say what period it covers. We simply include in it all the funds for payments received that the merchant has on their business account 3 days before the manual settlement is carried out (we will explain why 3 days in a moment).
Minimum amount for settlement
The minimum amount says from what level of funds on the GoPay business account settlement should take place.
If, for example, a merchant has a minimum settlement amount of CZK 1,000 set, it means that settlement should only take place once there is at least CZK 1,000 on the merchant's business account.
Parameter D
Parameter D is a key feature of settlement. It determines the delay after the last day of the settlement period with which the settlement should take place.
Why should settlement take place with a delay? Because GoPay may only pay out covered money (= money it already has in its bank account). The problem is that at the moment the payment is made the money is not yet covered, and by paying it out at that moment we would de facto be providing short-term loans (and we are not authorised to do that).
As can be seen above, payments received are only covered with a delay of several days. And it is this period that parameter D helps to bridge.
How does parameter D work in practice?
Automatic weekly settlement with parameter D=3
Example: The settlement frequency is set to every week. The last day of the settlement period is Sunday. Parameter D is set to 3 days. When will the settlement take place, for what period, and when will GoPay send the money to the merchant's bank account?
The settlement will take place automatically 3 days (because parameter D=3) after the last day of the settlement period, i.e. on Thursday. On the same day we will send the money to the merchant's bank account.
The money sent will be for the payments received in the previous week from Monday to Sunday.
Automatic monthly settlement with parameter D=3
Example: The settlement frequency is set to monthly, with the start of the period on the 10th day of the month. Parameter D is set to 3 days. When will the settlement take place, for what period, and when will GoPay send the money to the merchant's bank account?
The last day of the settlement period is the 9th day of the month (settlement runs from the 10th day to the 9th day of the following month, so the last day is the 9th).
The settlement will therefore be carried out on the 13th day of the month (D=3, i.e. 3 days after the last day) and we will send the money to the merchant's bank account on the same day.
The money sent will be for the payments received from the 10th day of the previous month to the 9th day of the current month.
Manual settlement with parameter D=3
Example: I want to carry out a manual settlement. Parameter D is set to 3 days. When will the settlement take place, for what period, and when will GoPay send the money to the merchant's bank account?
A manual settlement takes place on the day the merchant submits it.
Because parameter D applies to manual settlement as well, we include in the settlement the payments received 3 days before the settlement is carried out (with D=3).
For example, in a manual settlement carried out by the merchant on a Friday we will include all the payments received on the GoPay business account up to midnight on Monday.
Sending the money to the merchant's bank account depends on when the manual settlement is carried out.
If you submit a manual settlement on a working day before 10 a.m., we will send the money the same day, provided the settlement goes through.
If you carry out a manual settlement on a working day after 10 a.m., or at the weekend, we will send the money on the following working day.
Why does settlement sometimes not go as it should?
There can be several reasons why settlement cannot be carried out. You will find them all described in the article Why is settlement not happening on my account?
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