Rolling reserve
Settlement
A percentage of merchant settlement (typically 5-20%) that the acquirer holds for a defined period (typically 90-180 days) before releasing to the merchant. Designed to cover chargebacks filed against settled transactions. Reserve % and hold period scale with vertical risk and order-to-delivery window.
In practice.
A rolling reserve holds a slice of every settlement for a fixed window before releasing it, so locked capital peaks once the window fills and then stabilizes. Model that peak before signing, and ask when the reserve will be reviewed: acquirers routinely reduce reserves after months of clean processing history.
Related terms: Static reserve · Hold period · Settlement
Settlement