Get your Business Money Faster with Next Day Funding

Next day funding is a feature offered by some payment processors that sees the funds from a merchant’s batched transactions hit their account in as little as a single business day, with no standard hold applied. Processors set a cutoff time, and the funds from any transaction batched before that time will be available in the merchant’s bank account the morning of the following business day. 

For example, a merchant without access to next-day funding likely has a standard hold of two to three business days on their account. If they submit a batch of transactions at 7 PM on Monday, they might not see the funds hit their bank until Thursday morning. 

A merchant with a next day funding processor like BAMS, offering a 9 PM EST cutoff time, would see the funds hit their bank account by 7 AM EST the next business day — as little as 10 hours after cutoff.

Standard holds of two to three business days are an extremely common aspect of most merchant accounts, and for good reason. They allow time for the transaction settlement process to finish and, more importantly, mitigate risk for the payment processor. For instance, if a transaction turns out to be fraudulent, the standard hold means the processor can issue a refund without having to worry about retrieving the funds. In essence, standard holds represent a safety valve that helps processors deal with the pressures of fraud and fly-by-night merchants. 

With next-day funding, the processor effectively gives up that extra layer of risk mitigation and fronts the money to the merchant immediately, even though the actual settlement process may not have been completed yet and the risk of fraud is still high. 

Why Next Day Finding Matters to Merchants 

Next day funding is extremely beneficial because it helps ensure healthy cash flow — the lifeblood of all businesses. Whether it’s meeting payroll, unforeseen emergencies, or any other immediate expense, having cash on hand is a must. Steady, immediate cash flow also allows businesses to forecast and plan for major expenses and growth more accurately. Waiting three business days for the funds from sales to come in delays access to that all-important cash flow, especially for businesses doing heavy weekend sales, which might not see their funds for a full calendar week depending on the length of their hold.

And, while processors impose standard holds for important reasons, their effect is still to delay merchants getting access to money they’ve rightfully earned. Beyond the cash flow implications, merchants would prefer to have their money sitting in their own bank accounts rather than their processor’s, even if they don’t necessarily need it. Next day funding makes that possible. 

Accessing Next Day Funding

Because next day funding requires processors to increase their risk by waving one of the layers of their safety net, it’s not available to all merchants. Instead, next day funding is extended only to merchants that have a strong history of consistent, reliable, trustworthy operations.

If that describes your business, accessing next day funding may be as simple as contacting your support rep at your payment processor and asking for it. If your processor doesn’t offer next day funding, or if your business is deemed unsuitable to access it, it may be worth your while to look for a new payment processor. 

BAMS offers next day funding with a 9 PM cutoff time — one of the latest in the industry. We also offer our merchants guaranteed low pricing thanks to our interchange-plus pricing model, and a full suite of value-added features like advanced fraud protection, chargeback defense, Level 3 transaction processing, and much more. 

To find out more about how BAMS can put more money in your pocket and get it to you faster, get started with your free comprehensive five-point price comparison today.