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Wallets & Settlement

Understanding how money moves helps you set the right expectations for your customers and your business.

Payout method​

Your payout method determines how your customers' payments reach you. Configure it in:

Coinsnap Dashboard → Store Settings → Wallet

There are two modes, and they work differently:

Lightning (default)​

You provide a Lightning Address (e.g. you@wallet.com). When a customer pays, Coinsnap receives the Lightning payment and forwards it to your Lightning Address.

Customer pays invoice via Lightning
    → Coinsnap receives payment
    → Invoice becomes Settled
    → Funds forwarded to your Lightning Address
    → Service fee deducted from prepaid balance

On-chain (xpub)​

You provide an xpub (extended public key) from your Bitcoin wallet. For each invoice, Coinsnap derives a fresh, unique Bitcoin address from your xpub and presents it directly to the customer. There is no intermediary step — the customer pays straight to your wallet.

Customer pays invoice on-chain
    → Payment goes directly to your derived Bitcoin address
    → Invoice becomes Settled after ~1 block (~10 min)
    → Service fee deducted from prepaid balance

Because funds go directly to an address your xpub controls, Coinsnap never holds your Bitcoin.

Paying on-chain with a Lightning payout method​

The customer's payment method and your payout method are independent. A customer can pay on-chain while your store settles to a Lightning Address, and the payment is forwarded over Lightning once it confirms.

No spread is applied to that Lightning leg: you receive the full settled amount, and the service fee is billed against your prepaid balance as usual.

There is no minimum amount for this flow. Neither settlement route is refused or held back for being small.

Lightning is also the fallback whenever the configured payout method cannot carry a payment. A store on the on-chain method settles over Lightning instead when any part of the invoice was paid over Lightning, since a Lightning payment cannot be forwarded on-chain.

Settlement timing​

Payout methodInvoice settlesFunds available
LightningInstantlyInstantly at your Lightning Address
On-chain (xpub)After ~1 block (~10 min)Immediately — paid directly to your address

Service fees​

Coinsnap charges a small percentage per settled invoice. Fees are deducted from your prepaid wallet balance, not from individual payments. This means:

  • Your customers always pay the exact invoice amount
  • You always receive the exact invoice amount
  • Fees are billed separately against your prepaid balance

Top up your prepaid balance in Settings → Billing. View your current fee rate under Settings → Store.

Exchange rate risk​

The exchange rate is locked at the moment the invoice is created (the window is 15 minutes). If the customer pays within that window, the rate is guaranteed. If not, they must pay a new invoice at the current rate.

For most eCommerce scenarios this risk is negligible. If you accept large one-off payments, be aware of this window.