Held payments, Pending and refund policy in plain words.

This policy covers what happens to money from the moment a client pays until the seller withdraws it, and how refunds work. It's the rulebook behind Payment Secured. This article explains it in plain words. The binding text is the Payment Secured, Pending and Refund Policy page.

Before you start

• Read it together with the Order, Cancellation and Dispute Policy, which says when refunds are due.
• Numbers on the legal page come from live settings, so they always match the product.

Steps

1Money is held

When a client pays for an order, a milestone, a week of hourly work or a consultation, the money is held as Payment Secured in the order's currency, in a separate account. The seller sees the order is funded before starting.

2Money is released

Release happens when:

• the client approves the delivery or milestone;
• a gig order auto-completes 3 days after delivery with no reply (the client is reminded first);
• a milestone is approved automatically 7 days after it's submitted;
• a dispute is decided.

At release, Belancer's fee is taken and the rest goes to the seller's Pending balance.

3Pending, then Available

Released money stays Pending for 14 days. The client can still raise an issue during this time. Then it becomes Available to withdraw.

4Refunds

• Refunds go to the client's Belancer Balance at once, in the order's currency.
• The client can ask for the original payment method instead; it takes several days, depending on the provider.
• Partial refunds are split exactly, with nothing lost to rounding.
• Belancer's fee isn't charged on refunded money.

What happens next

Every hold, release and refund is a ledger entry, so it shows in your Transactions, statements and invoices.

Troubleshooting

• My refund isn't on my card yet. Original-method refunds depend on the provider. See refunds.
• The money says "On hold". A case is open. See report a problem.
• I don't understand why money was released. Check the order's activity: approval, auto-complete or a decision is always logged.

Good to know

• Every decision is logged: releases, refunds and splits show in the order activity with the date and the reason.

• Currencies: payments, holds, releases and refunds stay in the order's currency. BDT and USD are never mixed or converted, except a seller converting their own USD to BDT.
• The name Payment Secured is set by Belancer and shown everywhere money is held.
• Chargebacks: please contact us before asking your bank to reverse a payment.

Note: This article is a guide. The policy page is the binding text.

Tip: Clients: approve promptly when you're happy. It builds trust and better reviews.