Understand a negative balance with Squarespace Payments

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Understand a negative balance with Squarespace Payments

Last updated August 26, 2026 16:27

Overview of negative balances and auto-debits, and how it affects your Squarespace Payments account.

Use this guide to understand and resolve negative balances in your Squarespace Payments account. To understand negative balances with Squarespace Payments, you'll need to know the following terms:

  • Total payments volume: The full amount of sales processed in the last 30 days. This is the gross amount, it doesn’t include refunds or fees. Payouts from the past 30 days aren’t subtracted from this amount.
  • Currently processing: Completed payments that are processing through the card network to your Squarespace Payments account. Typically, payouts process in one to two days and then the amount moves to the upcoming payout tab.
  • Upcoming payout:The payout has been processed and the money is on its way to your bank account.

Note: We’ll be rolling out Squarespace Payments to more countries soon. Review this availability guide to check if Squarespace Payments is available in your area.

Negative Balance

A negative balance occurs when your total account balance is below zero dollars. This may be caused by refunds or chargebacks. Negative balances can be cleared by pending funds from sales. However, if you have a negative balance at the end of the day, midnight UTC, the funds will be auto-debited from your linked bank account.

Auto-debits

If your Squarespace Payments account balance is below zero at the end of the business day, the negative amount is debited from your connected bank account the next business day.

What happens if an auto-debit fails?

In the event that you have a negative account balance, and the auto-debit fails, you won't be able to issue refunds or receive payouts until the negative balance is resolved. An auto-debit may fail if there is an issue with your connected bank account, like having insufficient funds, or if the bank account is closed.

After the first failed auto-debit, up to three more attempts are made when you update your connected bank account. If the failed auto-debit is unable to resolve over the course of 20 business days, your account will be suspended.

Note: You can still take payments during the auto-debit process. If you take a payment that resolves your negative balance, your ability to issue refunds and and receive payouts is restored.

To resolve the failed auto-debit, update the connected bank account. After you update your connected bank account, you’ll need to wait for a successful auto-debit try. You'll receive an email notification when your negative balance has been successfully cleared. In the event your negative balance is resolved before the auto-debit occurs, you'll receive a payout of those funds.

Unresolved auto-debits

If the failed auto-debit is unable to resolve for more than 20 business days, your account will be suspended. During suspension, your online store can no longer accept payments and you'll have a limited version of your account dashboard. You’ll receive an email with next steps for repayment so the account suspension can be cleared.

Resolve a negative balance with a Squarespace Balance account

If you have a Squarespace Balance account, negative balances can't be automatically debited from your connected bank account.

To clear a negative balance and stop auto-debit notifications you can:

  • Process new incoming sales. Once new transactions cover the negative amount, your balance will return to positive.
  • Manually transfer money from your bank account into your Squarespace Balance account.

Manually transfer funds to your Squarespace Balance account

To add funds to your Squarespace Balance account, you can manually transfer money from your bank account. All transfers to your Squarespace Balance account must be initiated manually; scheduling transfers is not currently available.

To complete a manual transfer, you must first find your Balance account and routing numbers in your dashboard:

  1. Open the Finance panel and click Balance.
  2. Click View Account details.
  3. Copy your routing number and account number.

To transfer funds from your external bank:

  1. Log in to your external bank account's online portal or mobile app.
  2. Navigate to their transfer or payment section.
  3. Initiate a standard bank transfer (ACH) to an external account.
  4. When prompted, enter your Squarespace Balance routing number and account number.
  5. Enter the amount you want to transfer.
  6. Confirm and send the transfer.

Transfers typically take 1 to 3 business days to settle in your Squarespace Balance account.

Why did I receive an auto-debit notification from Fifth Bank?

Fifth Bank refers to your Squarespace Balance account, which holds funds via our banking partner Fifth Third Bank N.A. It does not refer to your personal or external business bank account.

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Understand a negative balance with Squarespace Payments