FAQ

Questions, answered plainly

Is Clear Transfer a bank?: No. Clear Transfer is a financial technology company, not a bank, and is not FDIC-insured. Payments settle through regulated partner banks via our payment providers.
How fast do payments arrive?: Usually within seconds. Payments go over RTP or FedNow, which run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and holidays. If you allow a fallback for a bank that cannot receive instant payments, same-day ACH arrives the same business day when sent before the cut-off and standard ACH in one to two business days.
Can a payment be recalled?: An instant payment is final once it settles, just like cash. That is why every payment is checked before it is sent, why you confirm that you understand this on each instant payment, and why you can require approvals for larger payments. You can ask us to request a return of a settled payment from the portal or API; our operations team submits it to the payment provider or pursues it with the recipient's bank, but a return is at the recipient's discretion and is not guaranteed.
What does it cost?: A flat fee per payment, paid by the sender: $10 for payments up to $100,000, $25 up to $1,000,000, and $50 above that. The recipient always receives the full amount, and there is no fee if a payment fails. Receiving money, invoices and pay links are free.
What are the minimum and maximum amounts?: $1,000 to $10,000,000 per payment. Some banks accept lower amounts over instant rails; we pick RTP or FedNow based on what the recipient's bank supports and tell you before sending if it can't receive the payment.
Who can I pay?: U.S. businesses with a checking account at a U.S. bank. Businesses don't need a Clear Transfer account to be paid: add them as a payee and we send them an invitation to certify their W-9 and add their bank account.
Can I pay a vendor whose bank is not on RTP or FedNow?: Yes, if you choose a fallback. By default a payment to a bank that cannot receive RTP or FedNow is refused before anything moves, and we tell you why. You can set a default in Settings, or choose per payment, to fall back to same-day ACH or standard ACH instead (same-day when the amount fits the network's cap, otherwise standard). Payments to banks on RTP or FedNow always go instant.
How do I fund payments?: From your Clear Transfer funding account, which you top up by ACH debit from a bank account you have linked. You accept a debit authorization once per linked account (we record its text, the time, who accepted it and from which address), then make deposits from the portal or API. Auto top-up can pull money from a linked account whenever your balance falls under a floor you set, up to a number of times per day you choose. A payment that your balance cannot cover, including its fee, is refused before anything moves.
Can I get paid?: Yes. Create invoices in the portal or API and send each customer a pay link; a Clear Transfer customer pays it from their portal, and any other business can push the money from its own bank to your receiving account, a routing and account number we provision for you, where incoming credits are matched to your invoices. Where the receiving bank and our provider support it, the pay page can also present a Request for Payment that the payer approves inside its own bank. Receiving is free.
What do you check before a payment is sent?: That both businesses are verified, that the recipient's bank account belongs to the recipient, sanctions screening against U.S. sanctions lists, a fraud risk assessment, your payment limits, your available balance and your own approval rules. If any check can't run, the payment is not sent.
How do I open an account?: Apply with your legal business name, EIN, address and work email. We verify the business against Secretary of State records and IRS TIN matching and send you an invitation once it is approved. The people who own or control the business then complete identity verification, and you may be asked to upload supporting documents.
Does it work with our accounting system?: Yes, through our Merge integration with accounting systems including QuickBooks, NetSuite and Xero. You can pay open bills directly and they are marked paid when the payment is sent. Activity also exports as CSV, OFX and BAI2, with a daily reconciliation file and a receipt for every payment.
Is there an API?: Yes. Create payments, manage payees, fund your account, issue invoices, read events and receive signed webhooks using API keys with scopes, optional expiry and IP allow-lists. The API reference and getting-started guide are at /docs.
Is there a test mode?: Yes. API keys that start with ct_test_ work against a sandbox: every endpoint behaves the same, no money moves, and the cents of the amount decide the outcome so you can rehearse settled, failed and returned payments. Webhooks are delivered for test events too, and you can reset your test data at any time.
Can I sign in with our company identity provider?: Yes. An account owner can connect any OpenID Connect identity provider for one email domain; new users are created on first sign-in with a default role the owner chooses. If the identity provider does not assert multi-factor authentication, our authenticator step still applies.
Do you issue 1099s?: No. The portal lists the payees who crossed the 1099 reporting threshold for a year and exports that list as CSV to help your preparer, but Clear Transfer does not prepare or file tax forms on your behalf.

Clear Transfer is a financial technology company, not a bank, and is not FDIC-insured. Payments settle through regulated partner banks via our payment providers.