What is this page about: This page explains how your Adyen-based Card account works with Light, including who holds your balance, how top-ups are validated and timed, and how to get a statement or balance confirmation for your own records or an audit.
On this page
- How your Card account is structured
- Where your balance sits and how to confirm it
- Top-up requirements
- Timing of a top-up
- Confirming your entity's Adyen verification
- If a top-up doesn't arrive
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related articles
How your Card account is structured
Your Card account with Light is built on top of Adyen, a global financial technology platform listed on Euronext Amsterdam (ticker: ADYEN). Adyen holds its own banking licenses, including a credit institution license from De Nederlandsche Bank (passported across the EEA), banking authorisation from the PRA and FCA in the UK, and a US banking license. This means Adyen itself acquires, processes, settles and safeguards your funds, rather than relying on a separate sponsor bank.
Light is contracted with Adyen as the merchant of record, and you're onboarded to Adyen under Light's platform account as a sub-merchant. We connect your Card account to the rest of your Light workspace and give you tools to manage and report on it. Your transactions and balance are tracked at the sub-merchant level, shown to you individually in Light, and kept separate from any other client's.
| Party | Role |
|---|---|
| Adyen | Licensed financial institution. Acquires, processes and settles your payments, and administers client balances on its virtual account structure. |
| Light | Merchant of record. Provides the platform, onboarding, connectivity and transaction reporting on top of Adyen. |
| You (the client) | Onboarded to Adyen under Light's platform account as a sub-merchant, with your own identifiable balance and transaction history. |
Where your balance sits and how to confirm it
Your balance is administered on one of Adyen's virtual balance accounts, a ledger construct rather than a bank deposit, and is classified as "funds in transit". Custody and processing rest with Adyen as the licensed party. Light's role is connectivity and platform administration. Each client's balance is separately identifiable, distinct from Light's own operating funds and from other clients'.
Two practical consequences for finance and audit teams:
- Because the balance is funds in transit on a virtual account rather than a bank deposit, it does not accrue interest.
- Although the commercial and technical relationship runs through Light, balance confirmations come from Adyen and speak to the client's own sub-merchant balance. The processes below are designed to evidence exactly this.
Need documentation for month-end close or an audit? Here's where each comes from.
Internal reconciliation and month-end close. You generate statements from the Adyen app on the Apps page in Light, using the same login you already have, and they are based on Adyen's underlying statement report. Access is role-scoped: a controller can generate and export statements without broader admin access, and no request through Light's support team is needed.
External audit. Where a statutory audit requires confirmation of cash held, Light coordinates the request with Adyen so the auditor receives a confirmation of the client's own sub-merchant balance, rather than a consolidated or Light-controlled figure. To request this, please contact your Light representative.
| Need | Mechanism | Requested through |
|---|---|---|
| External audit: confirmation of cash held | Third-party balance confirmation issued by Adyen, covering the client's sub-merchant balance as of a given date. | Light. Contact your Light representative. |
| Internal audit / month-end reconciliation | Statement of balances, transactions and settlements for the period, exportable on demand. | Adyen app on the Apps page in Light, self-service. |
Top-up requirements
Adyen sets three requirements for a top-up to be made available, and Light cannot override them. If any is not met, Adyen returns the funds and you send a new top-up that meets it.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sent from a verified (KYC'd) account | Adyen can only make funds available when they come from your account that has been verified already. |
| Sent directly, without an intermediary bank | Banks that route transfers through a secondary bank (e.g. Mercury, Airwallex, Wise) obscure the originating account, so Adyen cannot confirm the funds came from the verified account, even when that account is KYC'd. Use a different, verified bank. |
| Currency matches the Card account you want to fund | Send USD to fund your USD Card account, for example. A sweep can move USD between your Adyen balance accounts, but it cannot turn DKK into USD. Adyen does not offer currency conversion on top-ups. |
Timing of a top-up
Before you can spend a top-up, your bank must deliver the transfer and Adyen must process it and check the sending account. The money may then need to move into the Card account you want to fund.
What is a sweep? A sweep is an automatic transfer between your entity's Adyen balance accounts. If a top-up first arrives in your primary Adyen balance account but is intended for a separate Card account in that currency, the sweep moves it into that account. You do not need to start this transfer yourself.
- Funds already in the matching Card account: no sweep is needed. They become available once Adyen has processed the transfer and completed its checks.
- Funds waiting to move from your primary balance account: sweeps are scheduled daily at 7am CET. Funds that are ready after a run wait for the next one. They become available to spend once the sweep has completed.
Example: You have a primary EUR account and a separate USD Card account. A USD 1,000 top-up arrives in your primary Adyen balance account and is ready to transfer on Monday afternoon. The next scheduled sweep, at 7am CET on Tuesday, moves the USD 1,000 into your USD Card account.
A sweep keeps the money in the same currency. In the example, USD stays USD throughout. Always send the currency of the Card account you want to fund; a sweep will not convert another currency for you.
Your bank's transfer time comes before any sweep: normally 2–3 business days, though a SWIFT transfer can take up to a week. Allow for Adyen's checks and, where needed, the next sweep as well. If your top-up is taking noticeably longer, contact your Light representative with your proof of transfer so they can check on it with Adyen.
Confirming your entity's Adyen verification
Before sending a top-up, confirm your entity has completed Adyen's verification process:
- Go to Settings > Entities in Light.
- Open the entity linked to the Adyen account you're funding.
- In the Cards section, check the Legal documents field. Once onboarding is complete, this shows as Verified.
If your entity isn't yet verified, or you're unsure which of your bank accounts Adyen has approved for top-ups, check with your team or Light support before sending a transfer. Sending from an account Adyen hasn't approved will result in a returned transfer rather than a successful top-up.
If a top-up doesn't arrive
- Confirm your entity is verified with Adyen. Check the Legal documents status in Settings > Entities > Cards. If your entity isn't verified, or the sending account wasn't one Adyen has approved, that's likely the cause.
- Send again from a verified account. Don't wait for the original transfer to be returned. Starting a new transfer immediately is the fastest way to get your account funded.
- Reach out to Light support with your payment receipt. Support can track the return of the original transfer and keep you updated.
- If the sending account is correct, contact Light support so the transfer can be investigated directly with Adyen.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will my top-up show up after Adyen receives it?
If the funds arrive in the matching Card account, they become available once Adyen has processed the transfer and completed its checks. If they first arrive in your primary Adyen balance account and need to move to another Card account, they wait for the next daily sweep at 7am CET. A sweep moves funds in the same currency; it does not convert them.
How long does the bank transfer itself take, on top of that?
Add however long your sending bank takes to complete the transfer in the first place. That's normally 2 to 3 business days. A SWIFT transfer can take longer, up to a week in some cases.
What if it's taking longer than that?
If it's taking noticeably longer than the windows above, reach out to Light support with your payment receipt and we'll investigate with Adyen on your behalf.
Why don't top-ups appear instantly?
Your bank must first deliver the transfer, and Adyen must process it and check the sending account. If the money also needs to move from your primary Adyen balance account into another Card account, it waits for the next scheduled sweep. This is why a transfer can have reached Adyen before it appears in the balance you can spend.
Can I get a statement of my balance and transactions?
Yes. As an Admin or a Controller in Light, go to the Apps page in Light and use the Adyen app to export a statement for any period, on demand.
Can I get independent confirmation of my balance for an audit?
Yes. Contact your Light representative, and they'll work with Adyen to arrange confirmation of your balance directly.