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Instant Payouts: User Guide
Updated over a month ago

There’s a new Yoco POS App, and an updated Yoco Mobile App to better run and manage your sales and business with Yoco! 🎉

If you're considering using the Yoco POS, you can now download the new POS App for free to streamline your sales. The Yoco Mobile/Web App is still where you can manage your Yoco profile, products, staff, and settings - and take your business to the next level.

What do I need to request an Instant Payout?

Instant Payouts are meant to be for all Yoco customers, but we have to be responsible about how we offer this special product. This means it won’t be available while you have an open Capital plan, and not all of your Yoco available balance may be eligible for Instant Payouts, depending on industry-standard Anti-Money Laundering (AML) transaction monitoring measures and related risk flagging.


To access Instant Payouts, you’ll need to bank with one of these:

  • ABSA Bank | African Bank | Access Bank

  • Bidvest Bank | Al Baraka Bank (AKA El Baraka in some cases)

  • Discovery Bank | First National Bank | Finbond Mutual

  • HBZ Bank | HSBC | Investec Bank

  • Mercantile Bank | Nedbank

  • Sasfin Bank | Standard Bank | Standard Chartered

  • Tyme Bank | Rand Merchant Bank (RMB)

  • FirstRand Bank (owners of FNB, WesBank and RMB)


How much do Instant Payouts cost?

For Instant Payouts less than R1 500: You'll be charged R15 excluding VAT (R17.25 including VAT). For Instant Payouts over R1 500: you'll be charged 1% excluding VAT (1.15% including VAT) of the payout amount.

Note: This is an extra once-off cost and will not affect your ongoing Yoco transaction fees.

Some simple examples:

  • For a R1500 Instant Payout request, you’ll pay (minimum flat rate) R17.25 in fees (including VAT) and receive R1 482,75 in your bank account.

  • For a R5000 Instant Payout, you’ll pay (5000 x 1,15%) R57.50 in fees (including VAT) and receive R4 942,50 in your bank account.


How will an Instant Payout affect the timing of my normal Yoco payouts?

The short answer is, it won’t. But it can get really hectic running the numbers in your head when you should be enjoying running your business.

However much of your available balance you request for Instant Payouts, gets removed from your available balance and settled into your bank account immediately. What remains of your available balance will still be paid out as per usual, according to our standard payout schedule. Get more details about how payout timing works here .


How much can I request for Instant Payouts?

You can request one Instant Payout per day, and it must be at least R50, and a maximum of R10,000.

You can’t request more than your eligible balance - that’s your available balance minus any risky or flagged transactions still being safely processed.

The total amount you request for Instant Payout, will be removed from your available balance as soon as it is processed.

Note about timing: Your available balance is totalled for payouts and resets to zero at midnight every day. If you’re open late and know you’ll need the cash flow, make sure to get your Instant Payouts before the clock strikes twelve.


How do I check my eligible balance?

You can see your balance from the Money Tab, in the Payouts widget in the Yoco Mobile/Web App here. Your balance includes all the Yoco transactions you’ve made (minus fees and any refunds, chargebacks, Instant Payouts and Capital repayments, if applicable) since the last time a payout was processed for your profile. You can also view all your previous payouts in detail, from the Yoco App. When you request Instant Payouts, you’ll also get a view of your eligible balance while choosing the amount.


How much eligible balance do I need?

The amount you choose for Instant Payouts includes the fee (1% ex VAT). When requesting Instant Payouts, you’ll receive the amount listed as the ‘Total’ in your bank account, and the rest will be deducted as fees.

  • So, for amounts smaller than R1500 — request the amount you need + R17.25 (IP fee).

  • For amounts between R1500 and R10 000 — request the amount you need x 101% (to include the IP fee).


How to request Instant Payouts

  1. Log in to the Yoco Mobile/Web App and select the Money Tab from the menu on the left hand side of your screen.

  2. Select the Payouts tile to view your Payouts page.


  3. Click on the + Instant Payout button in the right top corner of your screen.

  4. Here you'll see your eligible/available balance and can request your Instant Payout amount, either as a percentage of your available balance or a custom amount below your total eligible amount.

  5. You'll see a breakdown of your total Instant Payout Fee, and how much we'll settle into your bank account immediately.

  6. Confirm by selecting the Request Instant Payout button, and then clicking on Confirm.

You can view, track and download a history of your Instant Payouts right from your Payouts Page here.


Where can I see my previous Instant Payouts?

Hit the “View payouts” button to see a record of your settlement history and look more closely at the details of all your previous payouts. As soon as you’ve processed your first Instant Payout, it’ll also appear on your Payout History for your records, which you can view and download from the Yoco Mobile/Web App here, anytime (as always).


Why is some of my balance not eligible for Instant Payouts?

It’s a legal requirement that all financial institutions monitor the flow of money. If some or all of your available balance has been flagged, it means we've detected activity on your profile that needs to be handled responsibly for your protection, and the flagged amount is therefore not available for Instant Payouts.


What does an Instant Payout reference look like on my bank statement?

In the past, an Instant Payout would reflect as YOCO INSTANT PAYOUT on your bank statement. That’s before we changed it to the following format: Yoco IP XXXXXX where IP stands for Instant Payout and the last six characters represent the unique number we assign to each business.


Why can’t I get Instant Payouts if I have a Capital Plan?

Yoco Capital and Instant Payouts are very special forms of credit. They’ve each been designed to respond to very different cashflow needs: Instant Payouts are for urgent cash injections of up to R10 000 per day (before your payments have even been processed), and Capital offers are for cash advances of up to R500 000 with a long term repayment plan. As much as we love the flexibility this offers our customers, it’s also our duty to offer these options responsibly. While a Capital Plan is open, your available balance is already compromised by your repayment holdback rate (%), and it would not be good practice to put further risk pressure on your profile.


Why can’t I request two Instant Payouts of the same amount from two different Yoco profiles with the same bank account?

Sometimes it happens that a customer with 2 profiles with the same bank details attached and who requests the same Instant Payout amount from each profile's balance, gets their second Instant Payout request rejected. This is because our banking partners flag that bank account and amount as already having been paid in an Instant Payout on that day.

Not to worry, we can work around this thankfully. All you need to do is request a different amount from the second Yoco profile you use. This amount can be as little as R1 less or more, just so that the banking system doesn't flag it as a duplicate.


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