Reserve Policy

This Reserve Policy explains how ZionPe protects the money that moves through ZionPe Payments: how your account is placed in a risk tier, how the rolling reserve works, when funds become available to withdraw, and what happens when a refund, dispute or negative balance has to be covered. It forms part of our Terms & Conditions (section 7.3). Capitalised words have the meaning given in the Terms.

1. Why we hold reserves

Customers can ask for a refund or dispute a card payment with their bank for many months after paying (usually up to 120 days, sometimes longer). When that happens the amount, plus any dispute fee, is taken from your balance. If your balance cannot cover it, our financial partner recovers the shortfall from ZionPe as the platform. A reserve makes sure those costs can be met from the payments they came from. It lets us keep accounts open, keep payouts running and keep fees low for every merchant, instead of closing accounts or holding all funds when risk rises.

2. Risk tiers

Every ZionPe Payments account is in one of three tiers. The tier sets the payout delay and the protection that applies.

These are the values in use on the date above. The values that apply to your account are always shown on your dashboard; where they differ from this table, the dashboard applies. We may extend the rolling reserve to other tiers under section 10.

2.1 How your tier is set

When your account is first assessed we give it a risk score from 0 to 100, built from:

• Dispute rate (up to 30 points): the share of your payments disputed by customers.
• Account age (up to 25 points): newer accounts score higher.
• Refund rate (up to 20 points).
• Volume (up to 15 points): a short payment history scores higher.
• Number of disputes (up to 10 points).

A score of 0 to 20 is Low Risk, 21 to 50 is Standard, and 51 or more is Enhanced Protection.

New accounts. A new account starts on Enhanced Protection (or a stricter tier if its score says so) and moves to a better tier on its own as it builds a record (section 2.2). This is the same approach card processors take with new sellers: a longer hold while there is no history, then faster payouts once there is. Accounts opened before this rule keep the tier they have.

2.2 How your tier changes

We review tiers automatically every day. In broad terms:

• Enhanced Protection to Standard once at least 60 days have passed since the account's first successful payment, it has been in good standing for about 60 days, has taken at least 30 real payments from at least 10 different customers in the last 90 days, has a low dispute rate and no lost dispute in the last 60 days, and has at least one approved verification document.
• Standard to Low Risk once at least 120 days have passed since the account's first successful payment, it has been in good standing for about 90 days, has about 50 real payments from at least 20 different customers in the last 90 days and keeps low dispute and refund rates.
• What counts as a real payment. A successful payment of at least £2 (or the same in another currency) that has not been refunded or disputed and was not made by you or from your own card. Test payments, payments to yourself and very small payments are left out, so a tier cannot be reached with a run of £1 charges.
• Quiet accounts. A Standard or Low Risk account that takes no real payment for 90 days moves back to Enhanced Protection, the same as a new account, and we email you. Once you trade again it moves back on its own under the rules above.
• Moving to a stricter tier can happen at once when dispute, refund or fraud signals rise (for example a high dispute rate or several lost disputes in a short time).

Time counts from your first successful payment, not from the day the account was opened: an account that has not traded has no record to judge yet. A move to a better tier waits a short cooling period so one good week does not swing your limits. ZionPe may also set or hold a tier by hand after a review, for a fixed period; your dashboard shows when that applies. You can ask for a review at any time by contacting support.

3. The rolling reserve

3.1 How it works

• A set percentage of each successful payment stays in your balance for a set number of days (for Enhanced Protection today: 10% for 60 days).
• The amount is worked out on the payment as it settled in your balance, less any part you refunded, in the currency it settled in. Dollar payments hold dollars and pound payments hold pounds; currencies are never mixed.
• Each payment's share is released by itself at the start of the first day (UTC) after its days are up. There is nothing to request.
• Because only payments inside the window count, the reserve goes down when sales slow and reaches zero once no payment is younger than the window.
• A payment that is already disputed is not counted again; the dispute hold in section 5 covers it.

3.2 Example

An Enhanced Protection account (10% for 60 days) received US$3,000 and £1,500 over the last 60 days. Its reserve is US$300 and £150. If it has US$400 available, it can withdraw US$100. When a US$500 payment from 59 days ago reaches its 60th day, US$50 of the reserve is released the next morning.

3.3 Where the money is

Reserved funds stay in your own ZionPe Payments balance, held by our regulated financial partner. ZionPe does not take, move or invest them, and they are not a fee, a deposit, e-money or an investment. No interest is paid on them. The reserve applies to automatic payouts, manual withdrawals and instant payouts alike: an automatic payout only pays out the amount above the reserve.

3.4 When your tier changes

The new tier's percentage and window apply the same day to all payments still inside the window. Moving to a better tier releases the difference at once; moving to a stricter tier holds more from the same payments.

4. Withdrawal limits and minimum balances

Where the rolling reserve does not apply to your tier, a withdrawal limit applies instead: part of your available balance stays in the account at each withdrawal (for Standard, today 5%). A minimum balance may also apply while a recent payment is still on hold. Where the rolling reserve applies, it replaces the withdrawal limit and the tier minimum balance.

After a review ZionPe may set a minimum balance on a single account (for example while an investigation or a run of disputes is open). It applies on top of the reserve until we remove it or it expires, and your dashboard shows it.

5. Disputes and other holds

• While a dispute is open, the disputed amount and the dispute fee are held in the currency your account settles in, in addition to the reserve.
• Your maximum withdrawable is your available balance, less the reserve (or the withdrawal limit), less dispute holds, less any minimum balance that applies. It is never below zero and is shown for each currency on your dashboard.
• Sudden volume. If an established account takes more than five times its usual daily volume in 24 hours (and at least £1,000), payouts pause while we review it. Customers can still pay you.
• New payout bank account. When a new bank account or card is added to receive payouts on an account that has taken payments, payouts pause for 7 days and we email you. They start again on their own. If you did not make the change, contact us at once.
• We may pause payouts, or switch them to manual, while we deal with suspected fraud, a sudden rise in disputes, a negative balance, or a legal or compliance requirement (for example sanctions or anti money laundering checks).

6. Negative balances and recovery

The reserve does not limit what you owe. If refunds, disputes, fees or fines exceed your balance, the shortfall is a debt you owe to ZionPe. You authorise us to recover it from later payments and from any balance on your account, and to collect it by other lawful means. Where we cover a loss on your behalf we may apply a stricter tier or a minimum balance until it is repaid.

7. Closing your account

When you ask to close your account it stops accepting payments at once. Because customers can dispute payments for up to 120 days, the account stays open for withdrawals, refunds and disputes during that period and is closed once the balance is empty and no dispute is open. Reserves still release on their own schedule while the account is closing. We may hold funds for longer where a dispute, fraud, legal or regulatory matter is open.

8. Exemptions and overrides

We may exempt an account from a reserve or apply a different percentage, window or minimum balance after a review, for example for an established business with a strong history or for an account under investigation. Any such setting is shown on your dashboard.

9. What you can always see

• Your tier, risk score and payout delay (Balance & Payouts, Reserve).
• The reserve held in each currency, the next release amount and its date.
• Your maximum withdrawable for each currency, and what is limiting it.
• Any open dispute holds and any minimum balance set on your account.

10. Changes to this policy

We will email you at least 7 days before a rolling reserve starts on your account, or before its percentage or window is increased for your tier. Where there is a sudden rise in risk (such as suspected fraud, a run of disputes or a legal requirement) we may apply a stricter tier or hold at once and will tell you as soon as we can. A change that is better for you (a lower percentage, a shorter window or a better tier) can apply straight away.

11. Contact

Questions about your reserve or tier: [email protected]. A step by step guide is in our developer and merchant docs.