Your customer tells you they've paid. You open the invoice and it doesn't say Paid. It says Payment processing.
Nothing is wrong. That word is the honest description of a bank transfer that has started and not finished — and the four or so days it sits there are worth understanding, because they are the difference between money that is on its way and money that is yours.
What happens, day by day
A US bank transfer from an invoice — an ACH debit — runs roughly like this on Stripe's standard settlement:
- Day 0 — the customer authorizes it. They link their bank on the payment page and confirm. This takes a minute, and it is the moment the invoice moves to processing.
- Days 1–3 — the debit travels. Their bank and yours exchange the transfer through the ACH network in batches, on business days only. A Friday-evening payment doesn't start moving until Monday.
- Around day 4 — it settles. The money lands in your processor balance and the invoice turns Paid.
- Then it pays out to your own bank account on your normal payout schedule.
Weekends and bank holidays don't count, which is why a payment made before a long weekend can take a full week to reach you.
Why it isn't instant
Card networks approve a payment in seconds because the card issuer guarantees it on the spot and settles up with the cardholder afterwards. A bank debit doesn't work that way: the money has to actually leave one account and arrive in another, and the system that moves it was built for payroll and bill payments, where a few days is normal.
That slowness is the price of the low fee. A bank transfer on Stripe costs 0.8%, capped at $5. A card costs 2.9% + 30¢ with no cap. If you need the money faster, Stripe offers two-day settlement at 1.2% — still far cheaper than a card on a large invoice.
What can still go wrong while it's processing
Most bank transfers simply complete. The ones that don't usually fail for ordinary reasons:
- Not enough money in the account. A card is declined on the spot; a bank debit is attempted and comes back days later.
- The account is closed or the details don't match.
- The customer disputes it. Rare for an invoice someone chose to pay, but consumer accounts can dispute an unauthorized debit for weeks afterwards.
Stripe charges $4 when a bank payment fails and $15 when one is disputed. The money never reaches you in either case, which is exactly why processing is not the same as paid.
What to do in the meantime
- Don't chase the customer. They have done their part. A "just checking" email during the four days reads as distrust.
- Don't treat it as cash yet. If you were going to order materials against this payment, wait for Paid — or ask for a card payment on deposits you need immediately.
- Release big jobs on Paid, not on Processing. For a small invoice the risk is trivial. For the final payment on a large job, a few days' patience costs nothing and protects you from the rare return.
- Do nothing if it fails. A failed transfer is a normal event, not an accusation. Send the customer the same invoice link and ask them to try again or pay by card.
How it works here
In ScanThisText the status moves on its own: Sent → Viewed → Payment processing → Paid. While a bank payment is processing, the Pay button is hidden from your customer so they can't pay twice, and you can't accidentally void or re-send the invoice underneath a payment in flight. If the transfer fails, the invoice reopens — back to Viewed, or Overdue if its due date has passed — and the same link works again.
If a payment confirmation from the bank network ever goes missing, we check with Stripe on a schedule, so an invoice can't sit in processing indefinitely.
Every account can send three invoices a month with card and bank-transfer pay links. Start free.
Fees and settlement times from Stripe's ACH Direct Debit pricing, checked October 2, 2026.
