Billing & Payments

Top up your balance

Card or bank, and why timing matters more than amount.

By Peregrine Ship Updated Aug 22, 2026

Two ways in

The + button next to your balance in the top bar, from any screen.

Top up balance on the Billing screen.

The balance widget in the Peregrine Ship top bar showing Available and Occupied amounts with a plus button to top up
Available is spendable. Occupied is reserved.

Both do the same thing.

Card or bank transfer

Card is instant. The balance is available as soon as the charge succeeds. Minimum $100, and a processing fee of 3.4% plus $0.30 is added on top of the amount you are crediting.

Bank transfer has no fee, which makes it the better option on larger amounts. The dialog shows the account details, and it is not instant.

We do not accept PayPal.

Use the payment reference shown. For a bank transfer that reference is how your money is matched to your account. Without it, it still arrives, but it has to be matched by hand and that takes longer.

Timing matters more than the amount

The single most useful thing on this page: bank transfers do not clear at weekends or on public holidays.

A transfer sent on Friday afternoon may not be spendable until the following week. If your busiest days are Saturday and Sunday, and your balance is funded by bank transfer, send it during the week.

Top up before you need it, not when an order is already waiting. An order that cannot be funded does not ship, and no amount of money in transit changes that.

What it costs

Card top-ups carry a processing fee of 3.4% plus $0.30, added on top of the amount you are crediting. Top up $500 and roughly $517.30 is charged to your card, with $500 landing on your balance. The dialog shows the split before you pay: amount, fee, total charged, and credited to balance.

Bank transfer has no fee. On anything sizeable that difference is worth the wait.

How much

Take Avg cost per order from the Billing screen, multiply by the orders you expect, and add headroom.

The average cost per order card on the Billing page
Multiply this by expected orders to size a top-up.

Add more before a launch, an ad push, or a weekend. Orders arrive when you are not watching, which is the point of the whole setup, and the balance has to be there when they do.

Check it landed

Open Billing and look at the Top-ups tab under Balance movements. Every top-up is listed with its date and amount.

If your Available figure looks lower than you expected, some of it may have moved to Occupied against orders that arrived. That is not missing money: seeAvailable and Occupied.

If it has genuinely not appeared, seeYour top-up has not landed. Do not send it twice.

Frequently asked

Is there a minimum? $100 on card. Bank transfer has no fee, so it suits larger amounts. How long does a card top-up take? It is instant once the charge succeeds. How long for a bank transfer? Longer, and not at weekends. PayPal? No. Can I get unused balance back? Yes, by bank transfer. Ask support. Can I set up automatic top-ups? Not today. Can I top up in a currency other than USD? Ask support before sending.

Still need help?

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