By: Money Navigator Research Team
Last Reviewed: 29/01/2026
FACT CHECKED
Quick Summary
Tide Payment Links can settle on different timelines depending on how the customer pays. Tide’s own help content describes card payments as paying out in up to three business days, while Pay by Bank payments are described as arriving in a few minutes. See My invoice was paid by Payment Link – when will I receive the money?.
The practical point is that “paid”, “initiated”, and “available” can be separate moments: a customer can complete checkout, while the payout to the Tide account may still be processing in the background.
This article is educational and not financial advice.
What “settlement time” means for Tide Payment Links
Most businesses use “settlement” to mean “the money is available to spend in the account”. With Payment Links, there are usually two layers behind that everyday meaning:
Customer checkout completion (card/wallet or bank transfer authorisation).
Payout into the Tide account (the funds are credited to the Tide balance).
Tide’s Payment Links terms use “Payout” to describe moving funds from the processing side into the Tide platform account, and set an expected window for that payout in Payment Links Terms and Conditions.
A useful way to frame “when will the money be available?” is to separate customer-side confirmation from ledger-side credit. The ledger-side credit is the moment the Tide balance actually increases.
Typical settlement times by payment method
Card and digital wallet payments
Tide’s help content describes card-paid Payment Links as paying out to the account in up to 3 business days.
Tide also markets an optional next-business-day settlement add-on for online card payments on Payment Links: take credit card payments online. Where that option applies, the “typical” timing for card settlement can change, while still remaining a card payout process rather than a bank transfer posting.
Pay by Bank payments
Tide describes Pay by Bank as processed through Open Banking and received into the Tide business account after a short wait, usually within minutes, in What is the ‘Pay by bank' option for Payment Links?.
In practical terms, Pay by Bank behaves like an account-to-account transfer credit once it posts, while card payments behave like a settlement payout into the account.
Why a customer can “pay instantly” but funds are not yet available
For card payments, the customer can complete checkout quickly, but the business still waits for the payout credit to land in the Tide account. Tide’s own terms describe the concept of a payout schedule and note that payout timing depends on processing in the chain.
Tide also describes separate invoice Payment Link notifications for “payment successful” and for the payment being initiated to the Tide account, in How will I know the status of my Tide Invoice Payment Links request?. That separation maps to a common real-world sequence: paid first, then initiated, then credited and available.
What can make availability faster or slower than typical
Bank transfer rail behaviour for Pay by Bank
Pay by Bank results in an account-to-account payment. Pay.UK notes the real-time nature of Faster Payments, including that once sent they cannot be cancelled, in How Faster Payments work. While posting is usually fast, the precise time can vary across banks and processing paths.
It can also help to separate “posting” from “scheme settlement mechanics”. The Bank of England describes how different UK payment systems settle (often on a net basis) into RTGS on defined schedules, in Payment and settlement.
This is one reason “available to the recipient” and “interbank settlement cycle” are related but not identical concepts.
For a rail-level refresher (Faster Payments, Bacs, CHAPS) and how those rails shape timing expectations, see EMI business accounts: payment rails explained.
Processor holds, reserves, and payout delays for card payments
Card settlement chains can include operational tools such as additional review, delayed payouts, or reserves in some scenarios. This mechanism-level picture is covered in Bank restriction triggers: processor holds, reserves and payout delays and in the dispute-focused guide Chargebacks and card disputes with EMI settlements: who can withhold funds.
This does not imply that any particular Payment Link payment will be delayed. It explains why “typical availability time” and “maximum possible availability time” are not always the same question in card-based settlement models.
What you will see in Tide statements and why it matters
When businesses reconcile “when did it arrive?”, they typically look for evidence in the account statement as well as the in-app timeline.
Tide states that sent Payment Link transactions appear in the account statement as coming from “Tide Payout”, and that invoice Payment Link payments made by the member appear with a “Tide Platform Ltd Tide Member’s Name” label, in How will the payment link transaction appear in the statement?.
That statement view helps confirm the ledger-side credit moment. It is also why “timing” and “labels” are often discussed together, even though they are different topics.
Summary Table
| Scenario | Outcome | Practical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Customer pays by card | Payout is typically within up to 3 business days | Checkout completion does not necessarily mean funds are spendable |
| Customer pays by Pay by Bank | Tide describes receipt within minutes | Availability can be close to authorisation once posted |
| Successful payment notification arrives | Customer payment completed | The payout credit may still be pending |
| Initiated-to-account update arrives | Payout step has started | Availability can still depend on the credit posting |
| Business day boundaries intervene | Timing extends over weekends and bank holidays | A “business day” window can span more calendar days |
| A hold or reserve is applied | Payout timing extends | “Typical” settlement time and “exception” timing diverge |
Scenario Table
| Scenario-level | Process-level | Outcome-level |
|---|---|---|
| Card Payment Link payment | Card processing then payout schedule | Funds become available when the payout credit posts to the Tide balance |
| Pay by Bank Payment Link payment | Bank authorisation then bank posting | Funds become available when the bank transfer credit posts in Tide |
| Status shows “successful” | Customer-side event completed | Availability may still depend on payout completion |
| Status shows “initiated” | Payout stage has started | Availability depends on the credit landing in the ledger |
| Dispute or risk signal occurs | Additional review or reserve may apply | Availability can extend beyond typical windows |
Tide Business Bank Account
Settlement timing is commonly interpreted by anchoring to the Tide account ledger: funds become “available” when the credit posts into the account, regardless of how quickly the customer paid.
A neutral overview of Tide’s business account proposition sits here: Tide business bank accounts. For feature availability and common blockers that can prevent Payment Links from appearing or working as expected, see Tide Payment Links eligibility and common blockers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tide describes card-paid Payment Links as paying out in up to three business days, which is a maximum-style framing rather than an exact timestamp. “Up to” language implies that earlier payouts can happen within that range depending on processing and payout scheduling.
Tide’s terms also use “payout schedule” language and note reliance on processing in the chain. That supports a “typical window with an upper bound” interpretation rather than a guaranteed date-and-time promise.
“Available” is the moment the account balance increases and the business can actually use the funds. That is not always the same as “the customer has paid”, which can be earlier in the process.
For reconciliation, the statement/timeline credit is the evidence of availability. Notifications and payer confirmation are useful signals, but they can refer to upstream events that occur before the ledger credit.
A successful payment can refer to the customer completing the checkout or authorisation step. The payout into the Tide account can still be in progress after that point, especially for card payments where payout schedules apply.
Tide’s invoice Payment Link status descriptions that separate “successful” from “initiated” illustrate this sequencing. It reflects a common two-stage reality: customer completion first, account credit later.
Where a timing window is defined in business days, weekends and bank holidays can extend the number of calendar days involved. That is why “up to three business days” can span more than three dates on a calendar.
Payment system settlement cycles can also operate on defined schedules. This is one reason businesses often focus on “posted to the balance” evidence rather than assuming a specific calendar date.
Tide describes Pay by Bank payments as normally arriving within minutes and appearing shortly in the timeline. That is framed as a typical experience rather than a guarantee of an exact time.
Posting speed can vary by bank processing. Practically, “minutes in most cases” and “guaranteed within minutes” are different statements, and Tide’s own wording is closer to the former.
The most reliable evidence is the account ledger: the Tide timeline entry and the corresponding statement entry showing the credit. That provides a timestamp that can be reconciled against invoices and customer communications.
Where statement labels group Payment Link activity, the transaction details and timestamps remain the key evidence. That is often more precise than relying on memory of when a notification was received.
Tide describes an optional next-business-day settlement feature for online card payments. Where it is enabled, funds may be available earlier than the standard up-to-three-business-day framing.
Even when payout is faster, it remains a payout process rather than a bank transfer. The method matters because it affects how businesses interpret status updates and availability evidence.
Chargebacks are a card-scheme dispute mechanism and can interact with settlement chains through reversals, evidence cycles, and sometimes withheld funds or reserves. This is part of why some providers treat card settlement as a process, not a single instant event.
A separate point is that dispute processes do not affect Pay by Bank in the same way, because the payment rail is different. The dispute route can change, but that does not automatically mean faster or slower availability in any individual case.
Refunds are usually separate movements rather than rewriting the original “available” timestamp. The original payment became available when it credited to the balance; a later refund is a new outbound payment event.
This distinction matters for bookkeeping because the “settlement time” question is about when funds first became available, while the “refund timing” question is about when funds left the account again.
In restriction scenarios, the operational question becomes “when can the business access credited funds” as well as “when did the payout post”. Access constraints can affect practical availability even if a ledger credit exists.
Because restrictions can interact with payment chains and provider controls, explanations of payout delays and holds often focus on the mechanism rather than predicting a single timeline. That is why “typical” settlement windows are best treated as normal-case indicators, not guarantees.
Most settlement timing confusion is caused by treating “customer paid” and “funds available” as the same event. Tide’s materials describe separate stages: customer success can happen first, payout initiation can follow, and funds become available when the credit posts to the Tide balance.
A consistent way to interpret settlement times is to anchor them to the account ledger, then treat notifications as indicators of upstream stages. This keeps “availability” tied to what the business can actually use, rather than to what the payer has already completed.
Sources & References
Tide support: My invoice was paid by Payment Link – when will I receive the money?
Tide support: What is the ‘Pay by bank' option for Payment Links?
Tide support: How will I know the status of my Tide Invoice Payment Links request?
Tide support: How will the payment link transaction appear in the statement?
Related Content
