Your customer already paid and the money shows up in the app, but your bank looks the same. What is going on, why Stripe only does this once, and what day it lands.
You collected your first job through the app. The customer paid, you can see the money in Cobros, and the days go by with nothing showing up at your bank. It is the question we get most in that first week, and the short answer is that nothing is wrong.
What is going on
The first payout on a new account takes about 7 days to reach the bank. It is not the app, not your customer and not your account: it is a wait that Stripe puts in place, the company that processes the cards and sends the money. It applies the same way to everyone who opens a new account, here and on any other app built on Stripe.
- Day 1
Your customer pays
The payment clears in seconds and shows up in the app right away. You can already see how much was the job, how much was the tip and how much was the fee.
- Days 2 to 6
Stripe finishes its review
Stripe confirms your identity, that the bank account is yours, and that the first payments came from real customers. Your money is set aside under your name the whole time.
- Day 7
Your first payout goes out
Stripe releases it and sends it to your bank. Depending on your bank, it can show up that same day or the next one.
- Day 8 onward
It runs on its own
Every new payment goes out by itself, Monday to Friday. The long wait does not come back.
Why Stripe makes you wait
Stripe moves card money into bank accounts, and by law it has to know who it is sending that money to. Before releasing the first payout on a new account, it needs to be sure of three things:
- That you are who you say you are and the bank account is in your name
- That the first payments came from real customers and not from a stolen card
- That the window where the customer's bank can still dispute the charge has passed
The third one is the one almost nobody sees coming. When someone's card gets stolen, the claim does not arrive the same day: it arrives later, when the person goes through their statement. If Stripe paid out instantly, that money would already be gone by the time the claim shows up.
That first week is exactly the window that covers this risk. Once Stripe has seen your account running with real payments, it no longer needs it, and that is why it does not happen again.
Stripe applies it evenly to every new account, and its own documentation says it cannot be waived under any circumstances. It is not something we can turn off or speed up, and it has nothing to do with anything you did wrong.
The part that is up to you
The 7 days cannot be shortened, but they can stretch on their own if something was left halfway. These four things are what make the difference:
- Finish the full verification when the app asks for it, without leaving it halfway
- Check your account and routing numbers digit by digit. One wrong number makes the payout bounce and the whole thing start over
- Use a bank account in your own name. If it is in your husband's name or a relative's, Stripe rejects it
- If Stripe asks you for a document, upload it the same day. The account sits still until it arrives
After the first one it never happens again
This is the part worth remembering: the long wait happens once in the life of your account. From the second payment onward, your money goes out automatically every day Monday to Friday.
If your first payment is past 10 days and you still see nothing at the bank, message us through the chat in the app. It is almost always one wrong digit in the account number or a document Stripe is waiting on, and both get fixed quickly.
