Instant Deposit FAQ

Last updated: Apr 10, 2026, 4:27 PM

Get answers to the most commonly asked questions for instant deposit. 

Please note that some customers or locations may not yet have access to Instant Deposit. If you are new to Toast, or have newly opened locations,  you may not have access right away when you first begin accepting card payments through Toast. 

 

In this Article:

 

General Questions About Instant Deposit

    Can I pay a vendor/supplier through Instant Deposit? 

    No. Instant Deposit may be used only with a compatible debit card that your restaurant owns or has the right to use, to receive your available amount. 

     

    How are the available funds for Instant Deposit calculated? 

    Available funds for instant deposit are the sum of closed Visa, Mastercard and Discover card transactions since your last capture or instant deposit transaction. Transactions made with American Express are not available for instant deposit for Amex Direct merchants. Amex OptBlue merchants have access to these sales. The amount available also reflects deductions for card processing fees and any other applicable withholdings, and may also reflect a deduction to protect against risk. See Why is the available amount in instant deposit lower than expected? for more detail. 

     

    Why is the available amount in Instant Deposit lower than expected?

    If your Instant Deposit available amount is lower than expected, or you have $0 available to withdraw, it is likely because you do not have eligible card sales since your last settlement capture time or because your sales were recently captured. Every time you manually capture batches throughout the day, or you hit your automated capture time and your card transactions are captured, the amount shown in Instant Deposit will go to $0. Captured batches will be deposited through the normal settlement payout process. 

    To maximize your available sales, be sure to request an Instant Deposit before your automated capture time and do not use the manual capture option on the device if you plan on requesting an Instant Deposit. Additional reasons could be due to transaction limits (see How much money can I instant deposit in a day?) or if a substantial portion of your sales is comprised of American Express card sales if you are an Amex Direct merchant.

     

    Can I use a credit card for Instant Deposit?

    • No, for card-based deposit, instant deposit may only be used with Visa or Mastercard debit cards issued by U.S. banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at this time. 
    • For direct-to-bank account deposits, your bank must support integration with either the RTP or FedNow real-time payment rails.

     

    What is Real-Time Settlement?

    Real-Time Settlement (RTS) refers to the ability to deposit funds instantly into your settlement bank account using real-time payment rails like RTP and FedNow. This method allows deposits to land in your account within seconds, 24/7—even on weekends and holidays. However, only accounts that are real-time-enabled and addressable by these payment systems are eligible. Not all banks currently support RTS, but this may change over time as adoption of RTP and FedNow grows. If your account is not yet supported, you can still opt to receive instant deposits via a debit card.

     

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    Instant Deposit Troubleshooting FAQ

    Why is my bank account not supported for instant deposit?

    Some bank accounts may be marked as "Not Supported" for instant deposit due to limitations with how your bank processes real-time transactions.

      • Instant deposit uses real-time payment rails such as Real-Time Payments (RTP) and FedNow to send funds instantly to your bank account (within seconds, except where a payment is rejected or where necessary to review the payment for legal or compliance purposes). These systems not only require banks to be part of their networks, but also require your specific account to support real-time funds transfers.
      • Not all financial institutions currently support these real-time capabilities. As participation in RTP and FedNow expands, more accounts may become eligible in the future.
      • If your account is not eligible, you’ll still see the instant deposit interface, but the system will indicate that your account is “Not Supported” and you can still opt to receive instant deposits via a debit card.

     

    Why is my bank account marked as “Unavailable” for instant deposit?

    If your bank account is temporarily marked as “Unavailable”, it’s likely due to a security hold. This typically happens when:

      • You’ve recently changed your settlement account for daily Toast payouts;
      • There is a known issue with your bank that affects real-time transfers.

     

    This temporary restriction is a fraud prevention measure—it helps protect you in the event of unauthorized changes, such as account takeover (ATO) attacks. What to do:

      • These blocks are usually lifted within a few days.
      • You can continue to use card destination deposits during this time.
      • If your account remains unavailable for more than a few days, please contact Toast Care for support.

     

    Why is the available amount different when sending to my debit card vs. my bank account?

    The available instant deposit amount can differ depending on whether you choose to send funds to a debit card or a bank account. This is due to security controls and risk policies designed to keep your funds and your business secure. Bank account deposits are generally more flexible and may offer higher availability.

     

    Why am I unable to add or change the debit card on file? 

    The inability to add or change a debit card is likely due to your user permission level. There are two user access levels for Instant Deposit:

      • Instant Deposit Admin: This role is automatically assigned by Toast to the business owner on file. The admin can add or change the destination debit card and initiate a deposit. 
      • Financial Admin: Users with the "Account Admin > 8.7 Instant Deposit" permission can initiate Instant Deposit requests and view Instant Deposit transactions but cannot change the destination card. This permission can be assigned by any financial admin (see Permissions Reference Guide).

     

    If you're the owner but cannot access the Instant Deposit page or change the debit card, contact Customer Care for help.

    Why am I seeing a message that instant deposit is not currently enabled at this location? My restaurant should be eligible. 

      • Customers are not immediately enabled for instant deposit during onboarding. Please allow one week from when your Toast Web account is set up for instant deposit to be enabled on your account.
      • Some customers must contact Toast to receive access to instant deposit. If you believe you should have access to instant deposit but do not, please contact Customer Care to request enablement.
      • You may lose access to instant deposit if you have an active lien or levy on your account. Instant deposit will be disabled until the lien or levy is released.

     

    What should I do if I see an unrecognized instant deposit transaction or modification request?

    If you don’t recognize an instant deposit transaction or change of card, contact Toast Customer Support immediately. Start a chat in Toast Web by clicking the blue button on the bottom right corner of any page or by selecting the Support icon at the bottom of the screen in the Toast Now App. Don’t have the app yet? Download it today on Apple App Store or in the Google Play Store.



    Why did my instant deposit not work?

      • Instant deposits can be declined if the card is or becomes unable to receive the funds for reasons including card expiration, a card being reported as lost or stolen, or change in card eligibility. Instant Deposit may be impacted by network outages or technical issues with Toast, its processing partners or a payments network. Additional causes of transaction declines include bank-side delays during holidays or weekends, pending batch processes, and insufficient permissions in the Toast account settings. Verifying these factors helps pinpoint the issue.
      • Where this occurs, you will receive a pop-up notification during the outage. We recommend you monitor the notifications and try again later. Deposits may also fail due to activity restrictions set by the bank that issues your debit card.
      • For more details, please speak with your bank about transaction limits on your account.

    I’m in Offline Mode, and my closed sales aren’t showing in my available Instant Deposit amount. Why?

    Card payments on offline devices are not available for Instant Deposit. Steps such as verifying your Internet connection, checking device network status, or ensuring the app transitions correctly from offline to online mode can help resolve issues faster. Once your devices are back online, your amount available for Instant Deposit should reflect any closed, uncaptured card sales accepted while you were in offline/background mode. 

     

    Why am I seeing this error message when trying to make an Instant Deposit transaction: “Instant deposit is not available at the moment. Try again later.”?

    The error message that you’re seeing may be caused by a limit on the maximum number of Instant Deposit transactions that you can initiate in a 24-hour period. We suggest that you try again later or tomorrow. If you are still experiencing issues, please contact Customer Care.

     

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