What is a payout hold in offers of CPA networks

Hello friends! If you have already signed up with at least one CPA network, then you definitely saw a column in your dashboard called "Hold". Today we will understand what it is, why your money is held by the affiliate network and how it all works in the context of different verticals and advertisers. Let's go!
 

What is hold and what is it used for?

A payout hold is a period of retention of the webmaster's earnings on the balance of the CPA network until the advertiser checks the traffic. The duration of the hold depends on the offer and its duration is usually specified in the terms/description of the offer. But we also recommend that you check its terms with your manager.
 

Why is that? What is hold used for?

The advertiser's income in most verticals is formed at a distance. For example, in the gambling vertical, there are such large payouts only because the casino expects that the brought player will continue to play and recoup the money invested in advertising and let them earn from above.

But if the webmaster is paid $100 for a conversion, and the players make a deposit of $20, leave and never return, the casino will lose money. Can such traffic be considered high-quality? Of course not.

Therefore, in order to protect advertisers' investments in advertising from low-quality traffic, and sometimes outright fraud, CPA networks practice hold. In gambling offers, it is usually about 14 days. During this period, the advertiser monitors the behavior of attracted players.

Naturally, the webmaster is not to blame for the fact that some players will indeed make one minimum deposit and not return, therefore, offers often provide for an acceptable percentage of such players. Anything above this percentage will not be paid. 

Types of hold and in which verticals it occurs

Hold on scheduled payouts — a holding period that the affiliate network imposes depending on internal payout rules. Most often, payments are made once a week or twice a month. This is necessary so that the CPA network does not experience a cash gap, since it earns solely on the difference in the cost of a lead for a webmaster and the rate offered by the advertiser (usually no more than 25%).

Hold to check traffic - a standard check for fraud. Depending on the business model and vertical, funds are held from one or two days to a month.

If you don’t want to work with hold, then choose verticals where it doesn’t exist. For example, nutra offers based on the SS payment model work without a hold. A person has paid for the goods on the landing page and the webmaster’s remuneration is immediately credited to his account. Similarly with any other offers where a subscription is provided. 
 

Hold information for beginners

The first few payments in any affiliate program are always put on hold. No one warns about it in advance - the webmaster learns about the “freezing” of funds only when he submits a request for their withdrawal. It is easier to talk about the existence of a delay after the leads are poured. If a webmaster finds out about long retention periods, he is unlikely to start working with a CPA network.

Some affiliate programs have minimum withdrawal amounts. In this case, it is important for a novice affiliate to understand how many users capable of a targeted action, he must attract in order to withdraw his earnings.

Comment from the editors of AffJournal

In order not to depend on the timing of withholding payments and to be able to launch the next campaign, always plan your budget taking into account the hold, discuss with the manager its duration and conditions for each offer. Otherwise, you risk being left without working capital for the entire verification period. Because of this, work will stop and time will be lost.