Payment Lifecycle

Learn about the lifecycle of a payment and how to manage the different aspects using Finix.


Most transactions in Finix follow a similar pattern. The diagram below models out the Payment Lifecycle for Finix:

Payments Lifecycle

  1. Buyer requests to make a payment with seller.
  2. The platform collects the buyers information and creates an Identity to represent the buyer in Finix.
  3. The platform collects the buyer's payment information and creates a Payment Instrument to represent the payment method used by the buyer to complete the payment. Once created, Finix notifies the seller with:
  4. The platform creates an Authorization to reserve the funds on the Payment Instrument to be captured (i.e. debited) at a later date, usually within seven days.
    • An authorization entry also gets added on the Authorizations tab of the Finix Dashboard .
  5. If the Authorization is successful, Authorization#state gets updated to SUCCEEDED and Authorization#expires_at gets updated with a timestamp. The Authorization entry on the Authorizations tab of the Finix Dashboard also gets updated.
    • If the Authorization fails, Authorization#state gets updated to FAILED . The Authorization entry on the Authorizations tab of the Finix Dashboard also gets updated. To proceed, the platform needs to submit the Authorization again.
  6. The platform captures the Authorization .
  7. Finix creates a Transfer to debit and move funds.
    • The id of the Transfer is available in the Authorization captured webhook.
    • A transaction entry gets added on the Transactions tab of the Finix Dashboard .
  8. When funds get debited, the Transfer gets updated with a timestamp in Transfer#ready_to_settle_at .
  9. Once the timestamp in Transfer#ready_to_settle_at passes, the Transfer will appear in the next Settlement that closes and requires approval.
  10. Once the Settlement is approved, a funding Transfer gets created to credit funds to the seller.
    • The settlement entry also gets updated on the Settlements tab of the Finix Dashboard .
  11. When the funding Transfer gets updated to SUCCEEDED , the seller can expect funds to hit their bank account in 5-7 business days (depending on their bank).