How payments work for trainers

Last updated: 2026-02-04

MatchMyTrainer uses Stripe so clients can pay securely in-app. Some bookings confirm instantly, and others wait for your approval — with payment only taken when you approve.

Two types of bookings

Instant bookings (auto-approve): clients pay when they book and the booking is confirmed immediately.
Bookings that need your approval: the client’s card is authorised (a temporary hold), the booking shows as “pending approval”, and you decide whether to confirm or decline.

1) Instant bookings (auto-approve)

Client selects a time slot and pays during checkout.
Payment is taken immediately.
The booking is confirmed instantly.

2) Bookings that need your approval

What the client sees

Their card is checked and a temporary authorisation hold is placed.
The booking shows as “pending trainer approval”.
They aren’t charged unless you approve. If you decline, the hold is released and the pending charge disappears (it won’t show as a refund).

What you do

Approve to confirm the booking (payment is taken at that moment).
Decline to cancel the request (the payment hold is released).
You have 48 hours to respond, and you can’t approve after the session start time.
If you don’t respond in time, the request expires automatically and the hold is released.

Void vs refund (what your client sees)

Voided (no money taken)

If a booking is declined or expires before payment is taken, the authorisation is voided. Clients usually see a pending charge disappear rather than a “refund”.

Refund (money returned)

If payment has already been taken and the booking is cancelled, we issue a refund back to the original payment method. Banks typically take 5–10 business days to show the money.

Last-minute classes

For group classes, MatchMyTrainer supports last-minute joining. If a class is starting soon (within 15 minutes) we treat it as an instant booking, and clients can also join up to 5 minutes after the start time. This keeps the experience smooth for “starting now” classes.

Packages (block bookings)

Packages are paid upfront. Once paid, the client has session credits they can spend on eligible sessions with you.
When a client books a session using a package, there’s no new payment at booking time — it uses one of their credits instead.
If a package session is cancelled, we apply your cancellation window to decide whether the session credit is returned.

Rebooking credits (if you cancel)

When cancelling a booking, you can optionally offer a one-use rebooking credit for the same service. This helps the client reschedule quickly without back and forth.

When you get paid

Payouts go directly from Stripe to your bank account. How quickly depends on your payout schedule:

New accounts: Stripe typically sets a 7-day rolling payout schedule. This means funds are held for 7 days after payment before being sent to your bank.
Established accounts: As your account builds history, Stripe may reduce this to 2-day or even daily payouts.
Bank transfer time: Once Stripe initiates the payout, it typically arrives in 1–2 business days.

You can check your payout schedule and pending balance anytime via Manage Stripe account on your trainer dashboard.

Fees

We take platform fees automatically and route the rest to your Stripe account. See Payments and fees for the full breakdown.

If you haven’t connected Stripe yet

Clients can only book and pay once you’ve completed Stripe onboarding. You can connect (or check status) from your trainer dashboard.