A negative balance occurs when the cost of refunds, disputes, or fees exceeds the available balance. Your business will not be able to send refunds to customers until the issue is resolved. To fix a negative balance, Stripe may automatically initiate an account debit from the bank account on file within two business days. In most countries, you can also add funds directly to your account from the Dashboard.
If you expect an increase in customer refunds or disputes, you can proactively add money to your Stripe account to avoid a negative balance and prevent business disruptions and chargebacks.
Adding funds directly
Follow Add Funds for detailed instructions on adding funds directly to your Stripe account from the Dashboard. Adding funds directly is not supported in India or Brazil.
Funds added directly will show as a negative payout in the Dashboard.
If you are in a country where Stripe supports automatic withdrawal for negative balances, check your balance and future payouts before adding additional funds in case your negative balance was already addressed.
Automatic withdrawal/auto debit
Automatic withdrawal, or auto debits, is when Stripe initiates an account debit from the bank account on file for the negative balance. This is helpful to maintain a funded and operational account without the need for manual intervention, streamlining your overall financial management.
If your account is eligible for automatic withdrawal, Stripe will attempt to debit your bank account within 2 business days of the negative balance. If the debit is successful, your account will be funded, and can continue processing transactions. However, if the debit fails, funds need to be added to your Stripe balance using an alternative method, such as a manual transfer or a credit card.
If you are concerned about issuing refunds sooner, add funds to your Stripe account proactively using the instructions above.
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An automatic withdrawal will show as a negative payout in your Dashboard.
Multiple bank accounts with different currencies
If you have multiple different bank accounts in different currencies, the balance for each currency is handled separately. Stripe will not subtract from payments received in one currency to cover a negative balance in another currency.
In order to bring a balance in a non-default currency out of the negative, you will need to create a manual payout using the Stripe API or from your Dashboard, with the currency specified as the non-default balance currency. The funds will undergo currency conversion and will deposit into your default bank account in your default currency.
