Glossary
Rolling reserve
A rolling reserve is a share of a merchant's turnover, typically between five and fifteen percent, that the acquirer or the payment service provider holds for a fixed period, often 90 or 180 days, before releasing it, so that chargebacks and refunds that arrive after the sale can be covered. Each day's reserve is released on its own date, which is why it rolls; a merchant always has a moving window of held funds.
Why reserves exist
Card payments can be reversed for months after the sale; if the merchant has stopped trading or cannot pay, the acquirer is liable. The reserve is the acquirer’s protection, and a PSP that carries the acquirer’s risk for its merchants holds one too. Its size follows the merchant’s vertical, history and chargeback ratio; it is negotiated down as the history grows.
Reserve against balance
The reserve is part of the merchant’s money, held and shown separately: the available balance a merchant can withdraw or settle is the balance after fees, limits and the reserve. A payout or a settlement never touches the held amount; the release writes it back to the available balance on schedule.
On the platform
Tranzify’s ledger holds a rolling reserve per merchant with the share and the period the client sets, shows the held and released amounts day by day, and refuses a payout or a settlement that would dip into it; the licensed client holds the funds, the platform keeps the record.
Updated: 2026-11-08