Hold period
Reserve holdSettlement
The duration for which an acquirer retains a portion of merchant settlement (the rolling reserve) before releasing the funds. Typically 90-180 days for elevated- and high-risk verticals; longer for long-window travel. Designed to cover potential chargebacks against settled transactions.
In practice.
The hold period is how long each slice of reserved funds stays locked before releasing back to you. When comparing offers, model the reserve percentage and the hold period together: a mid reserve held long can tie up more working capital than a higher reserve held short.
Related terms: Rolling reserve · Static reserve · Settlement
Settlement