New · Instant Pix in Brazil
sparkio
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How it works

From checkout to payout, in order.

A payment passes through five states on its way to your bank account. These pages explain each one in plain language, what you see in the dashboard while it happens, and roughly how long it takes.

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Paymentpay_1QyZ4w · simulated

$249.00USD

Studio Lamp · #20276

Paid out
Customer
Olivia Park
Payment method
•••• 1881 · US

  1. CheckoutMon 14:02:11

    #20276 paid on northlight.sparkio.site

  2. Authorized+212 ms

    Issuer approved · 3DS frictionless

  3. Captured+0.4 s

    Full amount, at authorization

  4. Settled+0.4 s

    At capture · $241.48 after $7.52 fee

  5. Paid outTue, Oct 20

    po_2Fh7Kc · to Chase •••• 6789

Simulated. Northlight's fee and timings are placeholders.

Three guides

Pick the mechanics you need.

Each guide walks one flow from start to finish, written for the person who has to explain it to finance.

  • Payments

    Checkout, tokenization, risk, authorization, capture, settlement and payout, and what happens when a bank says no.

    How a payment works

  • Subscriptions

    Plans, trials, the first charge, renewals, retries when a card fails and updates when a card changes. Plus proration when a customer switches plan.

    How subscriptions work

  • Apps

    From the editor to the App Store and Google Play: preview, submission, review, going live and updates after launch.

    How your app ships

The pieces

Builder, gateway, acquirer. Usually three companies.

A builder makes the page where the customer pays. A gateway carries the payment to the card network and decides how. An acquirer is the licensed institution that receives the money and settles it to you. SparkIO is all three under one account, so the payment never changes hands.

  • Builder: the site, app or checkout page the customer sees
  • Gateway: tokenization, risk, 3-D Secure and routing
  • Acquirer: the network connection, settlement and your balance
  • One ledger: every state change is a line you can filter
Why one account

  1. 01 · Build

    Builder

    • Site, app or checkout page
    • Products, prices, buy button
    • Domain, SSL and CDN

  2. 02 · Accept

    Gateway

    • Tokenizes the card
    • Runs risk and 3-D Secure
    • Routes to the best path

  3. 03 · Settle

    Acquirer

    • Authorizes with the network
    • Captures and settles funds
    • Credits your balance

One account · one ledger · one fee

Typical stack: a site builder, a payment provider and an acquiring bank, each with its own contract, fee and dashboard.

The words on your dashboard

Six states. Each one means something specific.

The same vocabulary is used in the dashboard, the API, webhooks and your statements.

  • Authorized

    The customer's bank approved the amount and is holding it on the card. No money has moved yet.

  • Captured

    You asked the network to move the money. From here the payment is final unless it is refunded or disputed.

  • Settled

    The funds reached your balance, with the fee itemized on the same line.

  • Paid out

    The balance left for your bank account, on the schedule you chose.

  • Pending

    Something is in flight: a bank debit clearing, an OXXO voucher not yet paid, a Pix code waiting to be scanned.

  • Declined

    A bank or a risk rule said no. The reason is on the payment; soft declines were already retried through a second route.

Questions

Common questions.

Do I need all three pieces?
No. You can bring your own site and use only the gateway and acquirer, or use the Builder with checkout already wired in. The ledger and the dashboard are the same either way.
What is the difference between a gateway and an acquirer?
The gateway is software: it collects the card securely, runs risk checks and chooses the route to the network. The acquirer is the licensed party that holds the network connection, receives the funds and settles them to you. Most providers are one or the other and partner for the rest.
Where does the money sit between settlement and payout?
In your balance, in the settlement currency you chose. It is visible as Available and can be paid out instantly, on the next business day or on a weekly schedule.
Is any of this different for Pix, bank debits or wallets?
The states are the same; the timings differ. Pix and UPI skip authorization and settle the moment they are paid, just as cards settle at capture. Bank debits and vouchers such as OXXO can take days to clear and show as Pending until the money arrives. Wallets like Apple Pay are cards underneath and follow the card path.

See it happen with your own test payment.

Sandbox keys, test cards and test Pix are ready the moment you sign up.

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