Pinch Payments
Pinch collects invoice payments from your customers by credit card or direct debit - automatically. No chasing. No awkward phone calls. Invoices get paid on the due date and reconcile themselves in Xero
Everything on this page comes from integrating and managing Pinch with Xero across dozens of client businesses - handling merchant applications, surcharging configuration, failed payment monitoring, and the reconciliation that follows. This is what we have learned
What Pinch Payments does
Features
No monthly fees. No setup costs. No contracts. You only pay per transaction - and you can pass those fees on to your customers. Additional merchant service fees may apply - including $1 transfer fees, $5 dishonour fees for direct debit, and refund or dispute fees where applicable. Pinch sits between your Xero invoices and your customers' bank accounts or credit cards. Raise an invoice, Pinch collects. Simple
Pre-Approvals
Your customers authorise automatic payment up to a threshold they set. Invoices are collected on the due date without anyone lifting a finger
Payment plans
Break a large invoice into a series of smaller automatic payments. The plan tracks against the original Xero invoice so you always know the balance
Auto-reconciliation
Every payment, including fees, reconciles back to Xero with no manual matching. Failed payments are re-attempted automatically at no extra charge
Customer portal
Your customers get a branded portal where they can view outstanding invoices, update payment details, download PDFs, and pay in one click
Flexible surcharging
Absorb transaction fees or pass them on - configured per customer or per payment method. Pinch handles the calculation and compliance automatically
No lock-in
No subscriptions, no minimum transaction volumes, no exit fees. Transaction-based pricing only. Start free and keep it that way until you process a payment
Best for
- B2B businesses with repeat invoicing
- subscription and recurring billing
- professional services firms
- trades and construction with progress claims
- accounting and bookkeeping practices
- any business tired of chasing overdue invoices
Integration mapping
Shared data between Xero and Pinch Payments
Invoices & Payments
Contacts & Status
Getting started
How to connect Pinch to Xero
Authorise Pinch with your Xero organisation, complete merchant verification, then configure your payment terms and automatic reminders
Before you start
- confirm you have Xero Advisor or Admin access with full read and write permissions
- have your business verification documents ready: owner or director ID, a recent bank statement, your ASIC company extract, and trust deed if applicable
Create a Pinch account
- sign up free at getpinch.com.au
- there are no subscription fees - you will only pay per transaction once you start processing
- during registration you will be prompted to connect your Xero organisation
Complete merchant verification
- Pinch requires standard business verification - ID for the owner or director, a recent bank statement, and your ASIC extract
- applications are typically reviewed within two to three business days, depending on complexity
- this is a regulatory requirement for any payment provider in Australia, not a Pinch-specific hurdle
Configure your payment settings
- choose your default payment methods - credit card, direct debit, or both
- set your surcharging preferences - absorb fees, pass them on, or configure per customer
- configure whether Pinch publishes payments as bank transactions in Xero (recommended: yes)
Send your first Pre-Approval
- select a customer in Pinch and send them a Pre-Approval link
- they enter their card or bank details and set their auto-payment threshold - say, anything under $5,000 gets debited automatically
- from that point on, every invoice you raise for that customer gets paid on the due date. No chasing required
Test the reconciliation
- after a payment processes, check that the invoice is marked as paid in Xero
- confirm the bank feed transaction matches - Pinch auto-reconciles fees separately, so check both the payment line and the fee line appear correctly
- nothing appearing? Check Pinch transaction history for the payment status. Direct debit can take up to three business days to confirm
Things to know
What to watch out for
Pinch is one of the best-reviewed apps in the Xero ecosystem. Most issues we see are not Pinch's fault - they are structural problems with Australian payment infrastructure
Direct debit is not instant
Australia's BECS system takes up to three business days to confirm a direct debit. Banks cut off at 4pm AEDT, nothing processes on weekends. Credit card payments are near-instant by comparison
Surcharging rules are changing
The RBA has proposed banning card surcharges from 2026 across Visa, Mastercard, and eftpos. If you currently pass fees on to customers, plan ahead for how that affects your pricing model
Customer onboarding takes effort
Pre-Approvals require your customer to click a link and enter payment details. For businesses with hundreds of existing customers, getting everyone set up takes time and follow-up
Fiserv acquisition
Pinch was acquired by Fiserv in April 2025. The team and product continue to operate locally - data is stored in Australia and staff remain based here. From what we can see, they are actively hiring and growing the local team, which is an encouraging sign. The question over time is whether that responsiveness holds as the business scales under new ownership
Not for point-of-sale
Pinch is built for invoice-based payments only. No tap-and-go terminals, no POS integration, no in-store hardware. If you need counter payments, you will need a separate solution
Pricing
What Pinch costs
Pricing model
Per transaction - no monthly fees, no minimums, no subscription
High-volume businesses
Custom rates available for businesses processing over $100,000 per month
The simplest cost model in payments - no tiers to evaluate, no subscription to justify before you process a single dollar
Frequently asked questions