Three balances, not one
- Pending — referrals recorded but not yet approved.
- Available — approved, unpaid, and clear of any hold period.
- Paid — settled in a batch.
Affiliates see all three, which prevents the most common support question: an affiliate looking at a total that includes pending referrals and asking why the withdrawal button will not offer it.
The hold period
A hold keeps an approved referral out of the available balance for a number of days, so a refund window can close before you pay on it. Set it to match your refund policy — paying commission on day one of a thirty-day return window guarantees clawbacks.
Withdrawal requests
An affiliate with an available balance over your minimum can request a withdrawal from their portal. The request appears in your queue; approving it drops the affiliate into the next batch. Nothing is paid by the act of requesting.
Minimums
A minimum exists to stop a fifty-pence transfer costing you a pound in fees. Set it against your actual rail cost, and say what it is on the portal — an affiliate who cannot see the threshold assumes the button is broken.