Last checked: 2026-09-21
Polar’s headline Starter fee is 5% + $0.50, plus 1.5% when the card is not US. A Canadian buyer is not a US card. That tape is not first cash. Polar publishes three later clocks: a first-payout account review, a settlement delay for newer organizations, and a default USD $10 payout floor. This page restates Polar’s own account-reviews and payouts pages fetched 21 September 2026. It is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Recheck polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/account-reviews and polar.sh/docs/features/finance/payouts before you open an account.
Polar’s account-reviews page says that before your first payout you complete Polar’s main account review from Finance, then Account, in three steps: submit for approval (business, products, intended use), identity verification through Stripe Identity (passport, ID card, or driver’s licence plus a selfie), and connect a payout account via Stripe Connect Express. Polar says initial reviews can take up to 14 days, depending on volume, weekends, and holidays. Polar tells you to build first and submit second: products, checkout, and a live website pointing at it.
You can request a payout while under review. Polar’s payouts FAQ says that request shows as “Held for review” until approval, then is paid out automatically. Customers are unaffected during the review.
Polar’s payouts page: transactions are subject to a 7-day settlement delay from the date they occur before the funds are available to withdraw. That delay applies by default to organizations created on or after 12 May 2026. Older organizations continue to receive instant payouts on that page. Polar may extend the delay to match a refund policy or for risk reasons.
The default minimum balance to issue a payout is USD $10. Canada is not in Polar’s higher-minimum country list (Bahamas, El Salvador, Panama), so a Canadian seller uses that default unless Polar later lists CAD at a different floor. A $9 ticket cannot be withdrawn after one sale. Withdrawals are manual. Polar processes payouts in batches 24 hours after you initiate them. Polar’s FAQ says payouts typically take 4-7 business days after that.
After the sale, Polar’s payouts page lists Stripe payout fees Polar says it does not mark up: $2 per month in which you have at least one active payout, 0.25% + $0.25 per payout, and cross-border FX of 0.25% in the EU or up to 1% elsewhere. Polar Pro at $20 per month is a spend, not a $0-start tool.
KeepCAD 2026 maps Polar’s per-sale tape against that first-payout clock, the USD $10 floor, and the 7-day hold. CAD $9, instant download:
Sources: polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/account-reviews and polar.sh/docs/features/finance/payouts (fetched 21 September 2026). Recheck them.