Clever Connect introduces a more flexible way for merchants to manage the money flowing through their account. Instead of forcing every business to track funds in exactly the same way, Clever Connect lets each merchant choose the balance structure that best fits how their business is organised. In practice, this means you can either keep one shared pot of money for your whole business, or separate pots of money for each part of it. Both approaches are fully supported; the right choice simply depends on how you prefer to see, reconcile, and move your funds. This guide first explains the two balance models, then the two account types that use them, and finally how money moves in and out.
Your balance model is chosen once, during onboarding, and cannot be changed after your account is activated. Because of this, it is worth understanding both options before you decide.

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Key terms

A few terms come up throughout this section. It helps to be clear on them from the start.

Merchant

Your overall business account with Clever Connect.

Payments Account

A sub-account inside your merchant account, used to accept and manage payments. See Payments Accounts.

Treasury Account

A newer, currency-specific account used to hold, receive, and move funds. See Treasury Accounts.

Balance model

How funds are tracked across your accounts: either Aggregated Balance or Dedicated Balance. See balance models.

Settlement

Moving available funds out of a Payments Account. See moving money.

Withdrawal

Moving funds out of your Clever balance to your own bank account. See moving money.

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Merchant onboarding

When a new merchant is onboarded, the Support team sets the balance model as part of setup. The two options are Aggregated Balance and Dedicated Balance. The chosen option becomes permanent once the account is activated and cannot be changed afterwards. For that reason, it is best to confirm the right model with the merchant before activation.
Because the choice is permanent, take a moment to match the model to the business before going live. The balance models page walks through how to choose.

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Existing merchants

If your account was created before the Clever Connect launch, nothing changes for you. You continue to use the Aggregated Balance model exactly as before. Specifically, there is:
  • No balance migration: your funds stay where they are.
  • No historical transaction migration: your past transactions are not moved.
  • No impact on existing settlements or withdrawals: these keep working as they did.
All your current workflows remain the same, and no action is required on your part.
Ready to understand the two models in full? Continue to balance models.