FAQ: How do affiliate commission payouts appear on bank statements in Simple Affiliate?
How Payouts Appear on Bank Statements
When an affiliate receives a commission payment, the transaction on their bank statement will typically follow a specific, branded format. This ensures that the payment is immediately recognizable as coming from your store.
The General Descriptor Format
The text on the bank statement starts with PAYOUT. Your store name follows it. Simple Affiliate removes accents, keeps only the
letters A to Z, the digits, spaces and periods, and then uses the first 15 of these characters. It writes them in capital letters and
replaces spaces with hyphens. For example, the store "Vandelay Industries" gives PAYOUT VANDELAY-INDUST, and "Café Étoile"
gives PAYOUT CAFE-ETOILE. A store name with no letters A to Z or digits (for example a name only in Chinese or Cyrillic
characters) gives only PAYOUT.
Factors That Affect the Descriptor
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Your store name: Simple Affiliate uses the name from your Shopify store settings. If the store has no name, it uses the store domain.
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When the affiliate connects: Simple Affiliate sets the text when the affiliate creates the Stripe account. A later change of the store name does not change it for affiliates who are already connected.
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The bank: Some banks shorten the text or add their own number.
Important Rules to Remember
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Consistency is Key: Use a Shopify store name that matches your public-facing brand. If your legal entity name is different from your store name (e.g., "XYZ Holdings" vs. "Awesome Shoes"), affiliates see the store name, so they recognize the payment.
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Descriptor Length: Only the first 15 letters A to Z, digits, spaces and periods of the store name appear. Keep the start of your store name recognizable.
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Affiliate Support: If an affiliate cannot find a payment, advise them to search their statement specifically for the word "PAYOUT" followed by your brand name. If your store name gives only
PAYOUT, give the affiliate the date and the amount of the payout.
What Happens Next?
Check the store name in your Shopify store settings before you invite affiliates to connect a bank account. Affiliates who connect after a change of the name get the new text. Affiliates who are already connected keep the earlier text.