Your firm has two money relationships through Aiwyn: client payments that flow to you through Stripe, and fees you owe Aiwyn that flow from you through Ordway. This article explains the Stripe side, what Stripe needs from your bank account, and how the timing differs for Canadian firms. For how deposits are batched, timed, and reported day to day, see How payouts work.
Two money relationships
| Direction | What it is | Processed by | How it reaches you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money to you | Client payments made through Aiwyn | Stripe | One deposit per weekday to the bank account you connected |
| Money from you | Software fees and related charges under your contract | Ordway | A monthly bill, paid from the bank account you set up with Ordway |
The monthly Ordway bill includes a merchant statement that lists deposits by day, split between ACH and cards, along with software charges where applicable and special line items such as disputes and chargebacks. The Ordway statement and your Stripe deposits describe the same transactions from opposite sides, so keep the two separate when reconciling.
Aiwyn is the merchant of record
Your firm does not have its own Stripe account, and you will not have a Stripe login. Aiwyn holds the Stripe account; your firm's bank accounts sit under it. Aiwyn is the merchant of record and interacts with Stripe on your behalf.
Once you connect your bank account during implementation, your contact with Stripe is limited to two things: receiving deposits, and correcting a bank account connection if one breaks. Everything else happens in Aiwyn.
What Stripe needs from your bank account
Deposits are not final. If a payment is refunded, fails, or is disputed after it has been deposited, Stripe takes the amount back out of a later payout, and if that payout is not large enough, debits your bank account directly. This matters most for ACH, which takes several days to clear: your firm can have an ACH payment in the bank, reconciled, before it fails and is pulled back.
For that to work, the bank account you connect must:
- allow debits, not just deposits
- have no ACH block in place
- have no withdrawal limit that a reversal could exceed
Aiwyn and Stripe publish payee IDs for you to whitelist with your bank for this reason. An account that cannot be debited risks delayed transfers and contractual late fees.
Three kinds of reversal
| Reversal | Who starts it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Refund | Your staff, through Aiwyn | The full payment is returned to the client's original payment method |
| Dispute | The client or their bank | For cards, the client disputed the charge. For ACH, the client's bank does not allow the debit. |
| Failed ACH | The banking system | Insufficient funds or bad account details |
Reversals typically process in two business days. Aiwyn Support provides reporting and notifies your firm's dispute contacts when a dispute occurs. For how a reversal appears in your deposit files and what to do in your practice management system, see How payouts work.
Timing for Canadian firms
US firms receive card and ACH deposits two business days after payment. Canada is different for bank transfers.
| Country | Card | Bank transfer |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 business days | 2 business days (ACH) |
| Canada | 2 business days | 6 business days (Pre-Authorized Debit) |
Pre-Authorized Debit is the Canadian equivalent of ACH and uses the same 19:00 UTC cutoff. A Canadian firm that plans around the US two-day figure will be off by most of a week on its bank-transfer volume.
Bank holidays
Deposits run on business days only, so holidays push the cycle rather than absorbing it. A payout due on Thanksgiving arrives the next business day, and a payment made on a bank holiday is batched with the next business day's payments. A long weekend delays the whole cycle, not just the holiday itself.