Questions

1. What is a “Transaction Review Hold Period”?

2. Can I get my funds faster?

3. What are the standard and faster funding timeframes for ACH?

4. Do hold day timeframes work the same way for all merchants?

5. Will a less-day hold guarantee I can collect funds from my customers?

The Transaction Review Hold Period refers to the number of business days (from Monday to Friday, excluding U.S. statutory holidays) during which a payment transaction is temporarily held by the payment processor or financial institution for risk assessment, fraud detection, and compliance checks before it is cleared for settlement. This hold applies to individual transactions and is part of the standard payment processing workflow. 

Note: The hold period begins on the next business day after the customer is debited, not on the calendar day.

Yes, under certain conditions. While CSG Forte cannot accelerate the ACH network itself (which determines how quickly return notifications are received), you may be eligible for Faster Funding, a service that allows you to receive your funds before the usual 3–5 business day Transaction Review Hold Period is complete. 

This service is charged with a fee that varies depending on the chosen Faster Funding tier (Next Day, Expedited or Accelerated) and it is calculated based on the total amount of credits or debits processed each month, which means the fee may vary from month to month. You can review the details of Faster Funding charges directly within your monthly invoice. The charges will appear under specific line items depending on the type of funding request, as follows.

If you need to receive funds more quickly for a specific transaction or group of transactions, you can request Early Funding. Unlike Faster Funding, which is a permanent service, Early Funding is a one-time option that applies only to the transactions you choose. Once your request is approved, you will be billed with a one-time fee of $35.

To request Early or Faster Funding, please contact your Account Manager to discuss eligibility, pricing, and next steps or contact Customer Service at 866-290-5400 (Option 1 for Merchants; Option 2 for Partners) or by submitting a ticket through Contact Payment Support | CSG Forte.

The timeframe for ACH funding may vary depending on factors such as the merchant’s risk profile, transaction type, and whether any funding holds or reserves are applied. The Transaction Review Hold Period takes place from Day 1 until the transaction is funded.

Note: Times may vary depending on whether the transaction was submitted before or after the cutoff times, which can be consulted here. For example, if a transaction is submitted on Monday after the cutoff time, the origination date will be on Tuesday.

In case the “Risk & Fraud review” stage takes three days, the timeline will be shorter as follows.

For merchants with Accelerated Funding, the Transaction Review Hold Period is two days. The timelines for this Faster Funding category are as follows.

On the other hand, merchants with Expedited Funding will receive their funds in approximately 2 business days, having a Transaction Review Hold Period of 1 day.

Finally, merchants with Same Day ACH (Next Day Funding) will receive their funds in approximately 1 business day. Which can be extended to 2 or more days depending on whether manual review is required during the Risk & Fraud review. This is ideal for urgent transactions like corrections, refunds, or time-sensitive customer payments.

No, merchants using a split-fund model or processing transactions in Canadian dollars (CAD) may encounter a delay of one additional day in funding. For instance, those subject to a 3-day hold will receive funds on the 5th day (instead of the 4th), while those with a 4-day hold will receive funds on the 6th day. For example, a transaction submitted on Monday before cutoff time will have the following funding and settlement timeline depending on whether Faster Funding options are applied or not.

No. For any return received from your customer’s account within a period shorter than the standard hold time, there’s a risk that the funds may not actually be available—even if they have already been advanced to your account. With a less-day hold, CSG Forte releases the funds to you before confirming that your customer’s bank has cleared the transaction. If the transaction is later returned (for example, due to insufficient funds, a stop payment, or an unauthorized debit), CSG Forte must debit your settlement account to recover the previously funded amount.