Accepting Bank (ACH) Payments
By Trio Team · Updated
Accepting Bank (ACH) Payments
Trio can let families pay invoices straight from a bank account instead of a card. This is called an ACH payment. Bank payments are lower-friction for families and cost your studio less to process than cards, so turning them on can trim your payment fees.
Why Offer Bank Payments
- Lower processing cost. Bank (ACH) payments are priced at 0.8% per transaction, capped at $5.00, which is typically far less than card fees. A small Financial Connections fee (about $1.50) also applies each time a family securely links a bank account. Trio never surcharges families or passes these fees on to them.
- Easier for larger balances. Families paying a bigger tuition balance often prefer a bank transfer over putting it on a card.
- Cards still work. Bank payments are an additional option, not a replacement. Card payments and card autopay are unchanged.
What You Need First
Bank payments run on Stripe Connect, so two things have to be in place:
- A connected Stripe account on Pro or Max. See Connecting Stripe. Bank payments are not available on the Free plan.
- ACH verification on that Stripe account. Stripe must have the bank-payment capability active on your connected account. Requesting it during Stripe onboarding does not make it active right away. It can sit pending behind verification for a short time.
Turning On Bank Payments
Open Owner Settings and select the Payments tab. Below the Stripe Payment Processing card, the Bank Payments (ACH) card has an Accept bank (ACH) payments switch. Turn it on and families will see a bank-account option when they pay. Only the studio owner can change this setting.
If your Stripe account is not yet verified for ACH, the switch stays disabled and the card shows a Finish Stripe verification note. Complete Stripe's requirements in the Payment Processing card directly above, and the switch turns on once Stripe activates the capability. The card also shows what bank payments cost, so leaving the option on is an informed choice.
The Payment Processing State
A card payment confirms instantly. A bank (ACH) payment is not instant. It takes a few business days to clear. While the transfer is on its way, the invoice sits in a Payment Processing state:
- The invoice shows a Payment Processing badge, not Paid and not Overdue.
- The amount the family sent appears as bank payment processing, listed separately from any balance that has already cleared, so you can always tell what has settled and what is still in flight.
- Do not chase the family or re-bill the invoice. The money is already on its way; the invoice settles on its own.
Trio marks the invoice Paid automatically once the transfer settles.
Settlement and Payouts
Because the transfer clears over a few business days, bank payments settle and pay out a few business days slower than cards. Set expectations accordingly: a bank payment made close to a due date is still in Payment Processing for a short window before the funds reach your account. You can always see cleared versus processing amounts on the invoice.
Returned Bank Payments
Once in a while a bank transfer is returned after it first looked like it went through, for example because of insufficient funds or a reversal by the family's bank. When that happens:
- The payment shows as Returned in the invoice's payment history.
- The invoice balance is reopened, so it is due again.
- The family can pay it again with the same or a different method, by card or bank.
Treat a returned payment like an unpaid invoice: the balance is live again, so a reminder or a quick note to the family is the right next step.
Bank Autopay Starts Early
If a family sets a bank account as their autopay method, Trio starts the transfer a few business days before the invoice due date so the slower ACH payment clears on or around the due date instead of arriving late. Card autopay is unchanged: cards are charged on the due date itself. Families see the lead time and the expected start date on their own Billing page.