Forwardly makes it easy to start accepting credit and debit card payments from your clients. Once you've completed your business profile, you're only a few steps away.
Enable card payments for your clients
| Reminder: Only the business account or a beneficial business owner can start the process to set up accepting card payments. Card payments accepted by you are paid out as batched-payout and may take 2-3 business days to settle in your chosen bank account. Fees do apply. |
- Navigate to the business you'd like to enable credit card payments for.
- Click Business Settings on the sidebar.
- Under Payment Settings, choose Accept Card Payments.
- Click on Setup.
- Select the Plaid-connected bank account you'd like to use to receive credit card payments.
- Add the required details, including incorporation date, website, and business type, and then click Setup Now.
- Approval typically takes 1-3 business days.
- If approved, you'll be notified and get a link to download your pre-filled Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ-A) form. You have 30 days to confirm that the information in the form is correct on the Forwardly platform. This ensures your business is PCI-compliant, and if you don't complete this task, a non-compliance fee will apply.
- Once you've reviewed the form, click Submit to confirm the information, and credit card payments will be immediately enabled for your clients.
| Reminder: The bank account you use to accept card payments must be connected securely and instantly through Plaid. Manually connected bank accounts cannot be used for accepting card payments. |
How long will it take for card payments to arrive in my bank account?
Card payments accepted by your business are paid out in batches and typically take 2-3 business days to deposit in your business's primary bank account. A fee of $0.25 applies per settlement on top of relevant credit card processing fees.
Can I pass card fees along to my clients?
Yes, Forwardly includes a setting where you can choose to pass the card fees onto your payer or customer so that you receive the full invoice payments without any fees deducted. Enabling this setting can be done once a business has had card payments enabled, and generally takes 24-48 hours to go into effect. Make sure to check your state laws about accepting card payments to stay in compliance.
You can enable this setting in Business Settings > Payment Settings > Accept Card Payments.
Do I have to do anything to keep receiving payments by card?
Yes, Businesses that accept credit card payments through Forwardly must maintain annual PCI compliance by submitting their SAQ-A form each year. This form is prepared by Forwardly on a business's behalf and should take only moments to submit.
If your business does not approve your yearly SAQ-A compliance form, then a monthly non-compliance fee will apply.
Can I change my card payment payout account?
Yes! If you need to change the bank account where card payment funds are deposited, it's a simple process.
- Connect a new bank account. Make sure you do so via Plaid, or you won't be able to switch the payout account.
- On the left-hand navigation bar, click on Settings.
- Select Payment Methods, and then Accept Card Payments.
- Click the payout account, and select the new account.
- Accept the changes.
Please note that your current payout account cannot be archived until it has been replaced with a different account.