When do I actually get paid?
Weekly is the high-risk norm, moving to daily once you have history and occasionally monthly for a new account in a difficult category. Whatever the frequency, the reserve is deducted before the payout reaches you.
Standard-risk merchants are often on next-day settlement. High risk rarely is, and the gap is a cash-flow problem rather than an inconvenience.
Weekly is the common starting point — typically a fixed day, covering the previous week, with the reserve already deducted.
Daily becomes available once you have established history with that acquirer, usually after three to six clean months. Worth asking about at the review point.
Monthly appears for new accounts in difficult categories. It is survivable but it needs planning, and it is a reason to ask about settlement frequency before signing rather than discovering it afterwards.
Two things that change the date in practice. Settlement is usually business days, so a weekend or a holiday pushes it. And the first payout after going live is often slower than the stated cycle while the acquirer confirms the account is behaving.
Ask for the settlement frequency, the reserve percentage and the hold period as one question. Separately they each sound reasonable; together they tell you how much of your revenue you can actually spend this month.
One thing worth checking before you sign: that the account the money is settling to will still be open. A bank that reviews your business and exits the relationship is common enough in these categories that it is worth planning for, and acquirers will not settle to an account held in a director’s personal name. See high-risk business bank accounts.