The reserve notice is silent about interest or separate charges

Give principal, deductions and charges their own records

Identify the provider, account context, currency and date of the reserve figure. Copy the amount described as held into a principal row. Put a separately named fee in a different row, with the statement line or invoice that records it. A reserve reduces access to funds; that fact alone does not make the whole balance a processing expense.

Compare a later reserve balance with its recorded movements before explaining the difference. Stripe’s reserves FAQ says reserved funds can cover refunds and disputes. A lower closing balance therefore does not, by itself, demonstrate a fee, an interest adjustment or a payment to the merchant. Locate the entries that explain the movement. If the available records do not explain it, preserve the difference as an unreconciled amount in that currency rather than inventing a balancing charge.

Read the hold term without turning it into a return promise

Stripe’s balances documentation distinguishes a reserve balance from the payments balance and a merchant-set minimum balance. Reserve funds cannot be paid out or transferred until the applicable hold period ends. Changing a minimum-balance setting does not end a provider reserve. Use those distinctions only for the Stripe arrangement they describe; another provider’s own documents must identify its hold.

Stripe’s FAQ describes a reserve review and the possibility of extension. Copy the term and any later amendment or review notice from your own account record. A projected end date is not proof that the full original amount will arrive then. Keep the release of held funds separate from interest, earnings or another financial return. The word return can otherwise obscure whether a reply concerns principal becoming available or an additional amount being paid.

Turn each silent term into an answerable question

Read the notice together with the agreement and any account-specific reserve correspondence. For interest, record the actual sentence if one exists. If none appears in the documents you have, record not stated in these documents. Ask whether interest or another return is credited to this merchant’s held funds and which applicable clause states that treatment. Do not insert a percentage, accrual period or legal entitlement to make the question look complete.

For a separate charge, begin with a real fee entry if one exists. Ask the provider to identify its name, contractual basis, calculation inputs, currency and collection method, and to explain whether it relates to the reserve. If no charge is recorded, ask which terms, if any, provide for a reserve-related charge. That question does not assert that such a charge exists.

For a reduction of principal, name the dated movement and ask what it represents and which record reconciles it. A reply about the expected release date does not resolve an unexplained deduction. Likewise, a statement that funds remain held does not answer the interest question. Keep these as separate questions even when they go in the same message.

Close only the question the evidence answers

After receiving a reply, link it to the question and the relevant document or entry. If it supplies a clause but no calculation for an actual charge, the term may be identified while the amount remains unexplained. If it confirms a release but no matching movement is visible, the release record still needs reconciliation. Keep unknown items open rather than turning an incomplete answer into a conclusion about the entire reserve.

For a Prism processing consultation, summarize the provider, the notice and the specific term you cannot establish. Confirm whether the requested document comparison is within the agreed scope, with responsibilities, fees and terms set before work. The provider controls reserve decisions. Questions about contractual ownership, entitlement to interest or enforceability require the applicable agreement and qualified advice; neither a public help article nor a consultation changes those rights.

Reserve principal and charge questions

Use one reserve and one currency per record. Complete the blank column with your document references and unresolved questions. Classify an item as held principal, an explained movement, a separate charge, a stated return or unknown; do not net unexplained items together.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.