How payments work for trainers

Last updated: 2026-09-21

Clients pay through Stripe when they book. Your settings decide whether a booking confirms automatically or needs your approval. Here's how those payments work, what happens if a booking is cancelled, and when the money reaches your bank.

Connect Stripe before taking payments

Open Payments in your trainer account to connect Stripe and complete its setup checks. Stripe needs your business and bank details before it can process payments and send payouts. The page shows your connection status and any remaining setup steps.

When a client pays for a booking

Automatic approval

The client chooses an available time and pays at checkout. Once payment is processed, MMT confirms the booking without you needing to approve it manually.

Trainer approval

Stripe places a temporary hold on the client's card. The booking waits for your decision, and approving it takes the payment and confirms the session. Declining it cancels the request and releases the hold.

Respond to booking requests promptly and before the session starts. Your booking list shows whether a request is still awaiting approval or has been confirmed. If approving fails or the payment and booking status don't agree, contact support with the booking reference so we can check what happened.

Last-minute class places

For group classes with places available, card checkout switches to automatic approval from 15 minutes before the start until five minutes afterwards. That lets clients book a last-minute place without waiting for a manual decision while you're getting ready to teach.

A card hold and a refund are different

Releasing a hold

A hold reserves money on the client's card while a booking awaits approval. When it is released, the pending charge usually disappears. The bank controls how quickly that change appears in the client's account.

Returning a payment

A refund returns money that has already been taken. Stripe sends it to the original payment method; card refunds usually appear within five to ten business days, depending on the bank. A refund made soon after payment may instead make the original charge disappear.

The refund amount depends on who cancels and the booking's cancellation terms. For a paid individual booking, a client cancelling before the cancellation cutoff receives a full refund. Later cancellations follow the service's full, partial, or no-refund setting. A trainer cancellation is refunded in full unless a rebooking credit is used instead.

Stripe explains how to check a refund in its refund guidance. If a refund is delayed, contact us with the booking reference so we can help trace it.

Session packs and rebooking credits

Clients pay for a session pack when they buy it. Booking an eligible session then uses one of the sessions in that pack, without another card payment or client booking fee. Cancelling a pack booking may return the session to the pack, depending on the cancellation terms. It does not automatically refund part of the original pack purchase.

A rebooking credit is separate from a session pack. Where the option is available, it keeps the original payment and gives the client one replacement booking for the same service, with a 30-day expiry. Explain the choice and agree it with the client before selecting a credit instead of a refund.

When the money reaches your bank

A successful client payment first goes into your Stripe balance, after MMT's fee. It becomes available for payout after Stripe's processing period, then goes to your bank according to your payout schedule. These are separate steps, so a confirmed booking does not mean the money has already arrived in your bank.

First payout: Stripe says the first payout is typically scheduled within 7–14 days of the first successful live payment. Account checks or other circumstances can make it take longer.
Later payouts: your schedule controls when available funds are sent. Daily payouts can include earlier payments that have only just become available.
Bank arrival: check the expected arrival date for each payout. Bank processing, weekends, and holidays can affect timing.

Your Payments page shows available and pending balances, your payout schedule, and recent payouts. You can also open your Stripe account from there. Stripe's payout guidance explains the timing in more detail.

Fees and help with a payment

MMT's commission is deducted automatically, with card-processing costs included. Our Payments and fees page shows the rates, volume discount, and examples of what clients pay and trainers receive.

If a booking, refund, or payout doesn't look right, get in touch with the booking reference and what you're seeing. We can help check the status before you ask the client to pay again or arrange a separate refund.