Money movement
Understand refunds, settlement, ledger balances, payouts, and disputes.
Payment completion, settlement, and payout are separate states. Your operations team should reconcile each one explicitly.
Core rule: completed is not payoutable
A completed payment means Alpha has confirmed collection. It does not mean funds are available for payout. Payoutable balance exists only after settlement or funding reconciliation credits the merchant ledger, or after an audited finance adjustment.
Important
Do not promise instant merchant withdrawal based only on a payment.completed webhook.Operational states
| Area | What merchants see | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Payments | pending, processing, completed, failed, cancelled, expired, refunded, disputed | Fulfil from completed status according to your risk policy; reconcile later against settlement. |
| Refunds | requested or pending until final outcome is known | Use dashboard refund flow and idempotency; watch payment/refund webhooks. |
| Settlements | Alpha settlement batches, gross, fee, reserve, net, status, optional FX summaries | Treat settlement records and ledger balances as finance source of truth. |
| Payouts | quote, requested, processing, completed, failed, returned | Quote before initiation and wait for final payout status before marking external obligations complete. |
| Chargebacks | received, evidence required, won, lost, cancelled | Respond before evidence deadlines and reconcile fees/outcomes. |
Payouts
- Create payout methods only for supported destination currencies and rails.
- Request a quote before payout initiation to see source balance, fees, FX where applicable, and total source debit.
- Payout initiation requires merchant step-up and available settled balance.
- Merchant views use Alpha payout ids and account language.
- Failed, cancelled, or returned payouts reverse the original debit only when the final outcome confirms funds were not delivered.
Settlements and reconciliation
- Settlement records must appear before a payment contributes to payoutable balance.
- If a settlement record needs review, Alpha will show the issue in the merchant dashboard or contact your team.
- Merchant settlement views are Alpha-facing statements, not raw operational files.
- Staging settlement simulations are for integration rehearsal only.
Chargebacks and evidence
Chargebacks expose deadlines and evidence records. Merchants should collect evidence early and respond before the deadline shown in the dashboard.
- Order receipt and fulfilment proof.
- Customer communication history.
- Refund or cancellation policy evidence.
- Delivery or service-completion records.
- Any additional evidence Alpha requests.