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Understanding Your Available Balance, Running Balance, and Pending Transactions

UpdatedAugust 11, 2026

Relay shows three balance views: your available balance (safe to spend), your total balance (including pending outflows), and your running balance (per settled transaction).

What is my available balance in Relay?

Your available balance is the amount safe to spend right now in your Relay Account. It excludes outgoing mailed checks, pending ACH and wire transfers, and processing debit card transactions.

Use available balance when you want to know how much you can commit to a new payment today without overdrawing.

What is my total balance in Relay?

Your total balance includes money tied up in pending outgoing transactions, but excludes pending check deposits and ACH Add Funds transactions until they settle.

Total balance is higher than available balance whenever you have pending outflows waiting to clear.

What is my running balance in Relay?

Your running balance is your account total after each settled transaction, shown beside that transaction in the transactions view. Running balance does not display beside pending transactions.

Running balance lets you trace how a specific transaction moved the account, one line at a time.

How do I view pending and settled transactions in Relay?

Click the down arrow next to "Pending transactions" in your transactions view to expand all pending items and see the total amount held. Settled transactions appear in the list below the pending section.

Pending transactions include:

  • Outgoing checks

  • ACH and wire transfers in progress

  • Processing card purchases (dated when they were created)

Settled transactions include:

  • Incoming ACH payments and wires

  • Settled card transactions

  • Checks (dated when they settled)

How do I read the three balance views together?

Compare available balance to total balance to see how much of your money is currently committed to pending payments. The gap between the two equals the value of your outgoing pending transactions.

Then scan the running balance column on the settled transactions list to see how each cleared item moved the account since your last review.

Does my total balance include pending check deposits and ACH Add Funds?

No. Pending check deposits and ACH Add Funds transactions are not included in your total balance until they settle. Both appear in the pending transactions section until they clear.

Do pre-authorization holds show in my available balance?

Yes. Pre-authorization holds reduce your available balance while they are active, and the balance updates once the hold is released.

Pre-authorization holds are common at gas pumps, hotels, and rental car counters where the final amount is not known at swipe time.

What should I do if my available balance or running balance looks wrong?

If your available balance or running balance looks incorrect, contact the Relay Customer Experience team so they can investigate the specific transactions in your account. Have the transaction date, amount, and merchant name ready when you reach out.

Talk to our Customer Experience team

If this article did not fully answer your question, our Customer Experience team is here to help.

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Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC.