Limits and settlement times

Each payment channel has a smallest and a largest amount per payment, and takes its own time to finish.

The API is the source of truth

Read limits and settlement times from payment options by country before each payment, and build your checkout from what it returns. The tables on this page are a snapshot from 16 October 2026 to help you plan. They go out of date, so do not hard-code them. When the API and this page disagree, the API is right.

Read them from the API

Every network in payment options by country carries its own limits and timing:

Field	Meaning
min_amount, max_amount	The limits for that network, in the local currency. 0 means Payd has no limit on file, and the network's own limits apply.
settlement_seconds	About how long a payment takes to finish, in seconds. 0 when Payd has no estimate.
settlement_type	How it finishes: instant, same_day, next_business_day, manual (a bank processes it by hand) or delayed. Empty when Payd has no estimate. Treat a value you do not know as slow.

Node.js

const auth = Buffer.from(`${process.env.PAYD_API_USERNAME}:${process.env.PAYD_API_PASSWORD}`).toString('base64')
const options = await fetch('https://api.payd.money/api/v2/payments/discovery/UG', {
  headers: { Authorization: `Basic ${auth}` },
}).then((r) => r.json())

const networks = Object.values(options.provider_networks ?? {})
  .flatMap((group) => group.networks)
  .filter((n) => n.ramp_type === 'deposit' && n.status === 'active')

for (const n of networks) {
  const limit = n.max_amount ? `${n.min_amount} to ${n.max_amount}` : `from ${n.min_amount}`
  const time = n.settlement_seconds ? `about ${Math.ceil(n.settlement_seconds / 60)} min` : 'no estimate'
  console.log(`${n.network_name}: ${options.currency} ${limit}, ${time}`)
}

Python

import math
import os
import requests

AUTH = (os.environ["PAYD_API_USERNAME"], os.environ["PAYD_API_PASSWORD"])
options = requests.get("https://api.payd.money/api/v2/payments/discovery/UG", auth=AUTH, timeout=15).json()

for group in (options.get("provider_networks") or {}).values():
    for n in group["networks"]:
        if n["ramp_type"] != "deposit" or n["status"] != "active":
            continue
        seconds = n.get("settlement_seconds") or 0
        limit = f"{n['min_amount']} to {n['max_amount']}" if n.get("max_amount") else f"from {n['min_amount']}"
        time = f"about {math.ceil(seconds / 60)} min" if seconds else "no estimate"
        print(f"{n['network_name']}: {options['currency']} {limit}, {time}")

The API also checks every amount when you send a payin or payout, and refuses one outside the limits. Cache the response for metadata.cache_ttl_seconds, then fetch it again.

"Finish" means Payd knows the result and sends the webhook. For a collection, the money is in your Payd balance at that point, except for cards.

Snapshot: 16 October 2026

The tables below are what the API returned on 16 October 2026. Use them to plan, then read the live values as shown above. Where a time says "Read settlement_seconds", Payd had no estimate for that country on that date.

M-Pesa in Kenya

	Per payment	Typical time
Collect	KES 1 to 250,000	Under a minute after the customer enters their PIN
Pay out	KES 10 to 150,000	Under a minute

The customer has about a minute to approve a collection prompt before it fails. M-Pesa also caps how much a customer can send in a day, so a large payment can fail even inside these limits.

Mobile money

Country	Collect	Pay out	Typical time
Uganda	UGX 15,001 to 3,000,000	UGX 15,001 to 3,000,000	About a minute
Tanzania	TZS 2,501 to 10,000,000	TZS 2,501 to 10,000,000	Read settlement_seconds
Rwanda	RWF 1,501 to 10,000,000	RWF 1,501 to 10,000,000	Read settlement_seconds
Zambia	ZMW 101 to 20,000	ZMW 101 to 20,000	Read settlement_seconds
Côte d'Ivoire	Up to XOF 1,500,000	Up to XOF 1,500,000	About a minute
Senegal	XOF 1,001 to 200,000	XOF 1,001 to 200,000	Read settlement_seconds
Cameroon	Up to XAF 1,000,000	Up to XAF 1,000,000	Read settlement_seconds
Benin	Up to XOF 300,000	Up to XOF 1,500,000	Read settlement_seconds
Togo	Up to XOF 1,500,000	Up to XOF 1,500,000	Read settlement_seconds
Botswana	BWP 151 to 10,000	BWP 151 to 10,000	Read settlement_seconds

Limits differ between networks in one country. In Côte d'Ivoire, for example, one network starts at XOF 1,001. Check the network the customer picked.

Bank transfers

Country	Collect	Pay out	Typical time
Kenya	KES 301 to 999,999	KES 501 to 999,999	Up to 2 days
Nigeria	NGN 501 to 30,000,000	NGN 1,801 to 30,000,000	About a minute
Tanzania	TZS 2,501 to 150,000,000	TZS 2,501 to 150,000,000	Read settlement_seconds
Botswana	From BWP 151	BWP 151 to 1,000,000	Read settlement_seconds
South Africa		ZAR 101 to 500,000	About a minute
Ethiopia		The bank's own limits	Read settlement_seconds

Some Nigerian banks start collections at NGN 2,501. Bank transfers marked "up to 2 days" are processed by hand, so they can finish the next business day. A collection by bank transfer also waits for the customer to send the money. See collect by bank transfer.

Cards

	Per payment	Typical time
Collect	Set by the card issuer	Approved in seconds. The money reaches your balance 72 hours later.

Payd sends payin.succeeded when the card payment is approved and payin.settled when the money is released to your balance. Ship on payin.succeeded. See card payments.

Stablecoins

	Per payment	Typical time
Collect	More than USD 0 and up to USD 1,000,000	A few minutes, once the network confirms the transfer

The customer has 30 minutes to send the payment. Your Payd balance is credited when the checkout completes. Stables Checkout checks the amount when you create a checkout. See collect stablecoin payments.

Your account limits

Your Payd account can also have limits of its own. If a payment inside the limits above is refused, the error message says why. Email support@paydhq.com to change your account limits.