Rolling Reserve Policy
What Is a Rolling Reserve?
A rolling reserve temporarily holds a small percentage of your transactions to cover potential chargebacks. The money is automatically released after a set period.
Think of it as: A security deposit that protects your account from going negative if customers dispute payments.
Reserve Amounts & Periods
M-Pesa and Bank
Reserve: 5%
Hold Period: 30 days
Applies To: Tier 3 merchants only
Card Payments, Google & Apple Pay
Reserve: 10%
Hold Period: 90 days
Applies To: All merchants
All reserves are released automatically—no action needed from you.
How It Works: Simple Example
Card Transaction: KES 50,000
Day 1: Customer pays KES 50,000 via Visa
Day 4: Payment clears (cards take 2-3 days)
You can withdraw: KES 45,000
Reserved: KES 5,000 (10%)
Day 90: Reserve auto-released
You can withdraw: KES 5,000
Total received: KES 50,000
Understanding Your Balance
1. Available Balance
Money you can withdraw right now. (Transaction amount minus fees and reserve).
2. Pending Balance
Funds still clearing (2-3 days for cards).
3. Reserved Balance
Held temporarily, releases automatically. Check your dashboard for release dates.
Why Reserves Exist
1. Chargeback Protection
Customers can dispute card payments up to 180 days after purchase.
Without reserve: A chargeback hits 90 days later. If you've already withdrawn everything, your account goes negative. You must deposit money to cover it.
With reserve: Funds are available to cover the chargeback. No account freeze. Business continues normally.
2. Industry Standard
All major payment processors use reserves. IntaSend's reserves are lower than most competitors.
Stripe: 10-30% (30-90 days)
PayPal: 10-30% (30-180 days)
Square: 10-30% (30-120 days)
IntaSend: 5-10% (30-90 days)
What If There's a Chargeback?
Example: KES 20,000 Card Payment
Original transaction (Jan 1): You received KES 18,000. Reserved: KES 2,000.
Chargeback filed (Mar 1): Chargeback amount: KES 2,000.
Accumulated Reserve: KES 22,500 available.
The Process:
Merchants do not need to go back to their pockets. Chargebacks will be deducted from your reserve.
Deducted from Reserved balance: KES 2,000 ✓
Available balance remains: KES 20,500 ✓
Result: Account stays active, settlements continue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why 90 days for cards vs. 30 days for M-Pesa?
Card disputes allow customers 120-180 days to file chargebacks. M-Pesa disputes only allow 30 days. We hold reserves slightly beyond dispute windows for protection.
Does this apply to my past transactions?
No. Only transactions after February 1, 2025.
Will this affect my cash flow?
First 30-90 days: Yes, as reserves build up.
After that: No, daily releases = daily reserves.
Tip: Maintain 3 months of operating expenses during the initial period.
Does it apply to merchant deposits?
No. Reserves will not apply to merchants who deposit their own money for payout purposes. It only applies to sales.
Checking Your Reserved Balance
Log in to the IntaSend Dashboard
Go to the Balance section
View Reserved Balance with release dates
Reserves will also be indicated in the account statements.
Quick Summary
M-Pesa and Bank (Tier 3): 5% held for 30 days
Cards , Google & Apple Pay(All tiers): 10% held for 90 days
Auto-release: No action needed from you
Industry standard: All processors do this
Lower than competitors: 5-10% vs 10-30%
Protects you: Covers chargebacks without account disruption
Plan for the first 90 days. After that, cash flow normalizes.
Need Help?
Contact Support Team
Email: support@intasend.com
Phone/WhatsApp: +254 711 082 947
