This guide is intended to be used, not merely read. Pull the file, and check each of the five signs below against it. None of them requires specialist knowledge to spot — the specialist part, if it turns out to matter, comes after.
1. The business accepted card payments
The starting condition. If the business took card payments at any point — in person, online, or both — it had a processing relationship with a PSP, EMI, acquirer or bank, and that relationship is the first place to look for a frozen-funds claim. Businesses that only took bank transfers or cash are, for this purpose, out of scope; everything else is worth the next four checks.
2. There was a relationship with a PSP, EMI or acquirer
Look for the merchant services agreement, the acquiring agreement, or an onboarding pack from a payment provider — these are usually in the company's contracts file, its accounting records (as a line item for processing fees), or its bank statements (as a settlement counterparty). Note the provider's name and, if it is stated, whether it describes itself as a payment institution, e-money institution, acquirer or bank — this decides which type of counterparty you are dealing with and, in turn, which regulator sits behind it.
3. A rolling reserve or security provision in the contract
Check the merchant services agreement for a reserve, holdback or security clause — typically a percentage of processing volume withheld for a fixed period, six to eighteen months being typical. If the agreement includes one, ask whether it was ever released, in full or in part. A reserve clause with no corresponding release entry in the accounts is one of the clearest single signs worth pursuing, because both the existence of the funds and the contractual basis for withholding them are already documented.
4. Payouts were interrupted before the business ceased trading
Check the bank statements for the weeks or months immediately before cessation. A visible drop or stop in settlement payments from the payment provider — while the business was still ordinarily processing transactions, or shortly after it stopped — is a strong signal that funds were frozen rather than simply exhausted by trading losses. This is often the easiest sign to confirm quickly, because it shows up directly in the bank statement without needing the underlying contract at all.
5. Funds appear withheld or unaccounted for
Compare the last settlement statements or portal exports (if still accessible) against what actually landed in the business's bank account. A gap between processed volume and settled volume — even an approximate one — is worth noting even before it can be fully reconciled. Correspondence requesting release of the funds, or an explanation for an apparent shortfall, is itself useful evidence, particularly where it received no substantive response.
What to have ready
If two or more signs are present, the initial assessment is usually quicker where the practitioner already has to hand:
- the merchant services agreement;
- the final settlement statements;
- recent bank statements covering the period before cessation;
- correspondence with the provider; and
- any notice of reserve, holdback or account suspension.
None of these is a precondition for the initial conversation — but having what exists already to hand shortens it.
If several of these apply
No single sign, on its own, guarantees a claim worth pursuing — and the absence of one does not rule it out either. But an estate where two or three of these signs are present, and particularly where the reserve clause (3) or the settlement gap (5) is clearly documented, is worth a short conversation before the file is closed. That conversation costs nothing and commits the estate to nothing; see our page for insolvency practitioners to arrange one, and our primer on frozen PSP funds in insolvent estates for the fuller picture of what tends to be held and why.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.