> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rc.cleverhub.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Payments Accounts

> Payments Accounts are sub-accounts inside your merchant account used to accept and manage payments, one per store, brand, or payment flow, all under one merchant.

A **Payments Account** is a sub-account that lives inside your merchant account and is used to accept and manage payments. A merchant can have one or several Payments Accounts (for example, one per store, brand, or payment flow) all sitting under the same merchant.

<Note>
  A Payments Account is where payment activity lands. For holding, receiving, and moving funds in a specific currency, see [Treasury Accounts](/platform-overview/clever-concepts/treasury-accounts).
</Note>

## How funds move across your Payments Accounts

How money moves across your Payments Accounts is governed by your account’s [balance model](/platform-overview/clever-concepts/balance-models), which is set during [onboarding](/platform-overview/clever-concepts/balance-management-guide) and cannot be changed afterwards.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Under Aggregated Balance" icon="database">
    All Payments Accounts share a single balance per currency. Money earned by any Payments Account flows into one shared pool, and Settlements and Withdrawals are taken from that pool without selecting a specific account.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Under Dedicated Balance" icon="grip">
    Each Payments Account holds its own separate balance and transaction history. Settlements and Withdrawals are taken from the specific account you select.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Tip>
  For the full behaviour of each model (including how incoming payments, payouts, Settlements, and Withdrawals are handled) see [balance models](/platform-overview/clever-concepts/balance-models).
</Tip>

<Info>
  **Settlement** (Request settlement) is supported for **every currency** on your account, under both balance models. On-demand **Move funds** for Payments Accounts is supported for **AUD** and **JPY**.
</Info>

<Warning>
  These movements do not use smart routing. The source and destination must hold the **same currency**; cross-currency movement is only possible between two Treasury Accounts. See [supported directions](/platform-overview/clever-concepts/moving-money#supported-directions).
</Warning>

## Common ways to use Payments Accounts

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="One per store" icon="store">
    Give each storefront its own Payments Account to keep activity clearly separated.
  </Card>

  <Card title="One per brand" icon="tags">
    Run several brands under one merchant, each with its own Payments Account.
  </Card>

  <Card title="One per payment flow" icon="arrows-split-up-and-left">
    Separate different kinds of payment activity into their own accounts.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  Whether these accounts share a balance or keep separate ones depends entirely on your balance model. If keeping each store’s money separate matters to you, that is a reason to choose Dedicated Balance during onboarding.
</Note>


## Related topics

- [Merchant Portal Overview](/portal/overview.md)
- [Managing Balances and Accounts](/portal/balances.md)
- [Clever Connect vs. a Standard Account](/platform-overview/clever-concepts/clever-connect-vs-standard.md)