A Target Balance Account (TBA) changes how a Passport Account behaves: instead of holding funds independently, an account is linked to a Master account and automatically kept at a predefined target balance. At the end of each day, PCE sweeps excess or deficit funds between the linked accounts so every account lands on its target, without manual transfers.

This lets a business centralize cash in one Master account while keeping dedicated accounts for purposes such as payroll, taxes, or vendor payments.

Common use cases

• Keep a central Master (concentration) account and let dedicated sub-accounts (payroll, tax, vendor) auto-fund to a set balance.
• Cover a short sub-account from the Master account automatically instead of pre-funding every account.
• Sweep idle balances back to one account at end of day to simplify cash management and reconciliation.

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How it works

Two roles define a TBA setup:

Each subsidiary account is configured with a target balance — the amount it should hold at end of day. PCE automatically sweeps funds between each sub-account and the Master account at 5:00 PM PST to restore the target:

• Positive balance in a sub-account — excess funds above the target are swept to the Master account.
• Negative balance in a sub-account — funds are swept from the Master account to cover the shortfall.

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Who can use TBA

Before a customer can configure Target Balance Accounts, the following must be in place.

Eligibility

• The customer is a business customer with at least two Passport accounts in ACTIVE status.
• The Enable Target Balance Service setting is turned on (True) for the customer. This is False by default and is enabled by the Program Manager from the customer's configuration tab in the Program Manager Portal.

Supported account types

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Enable the service

Once Target Balance Service is enabled for the customer, they designate their Passport accounts as TBA Master or TBA Sub. This can be done two ways:

Configure through the Customer Portal (UI)

1. Open the Target Balance Service card on the home screen, or the settings icon in the Customer Portal.
2. Select one account as the Master account from the dropdown, then select one or more subsidiary accounts from the available accounts.
3. Enter the target amount for each subsidiary account. The default is $0.

Configure through the API

Set an account as Master or subsidiary and set each subsidiary's target balance through the account preference configuration. See Customer Preferences for the related preference APIs.

Once configured, the Master account shows a TBA MASTER tag and each subsidiary account shows a TBA SUB tag.

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Fund flow: an end-to-end example

This example uses three Passport accounts — one Master and two subsidiaries — with start-of-day balances of Master $40,000, Sub A $0, Sub B $0. Both sub-accounts have a target balance of $0.

Ledger narrations

PCE generates ledger entries for every TBA transaction, including end-of-day sweeps and fund transfers.

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Returns, refunds, and chargebacks

When Target Balance Accounts are configured, the Master account's balance is automatically considered in the fund-recovery process, so returns, refunds, and chargebacks on a subsidiary account are handled reliably even when the sub-account is short.

Refunds

If an ACH refund or a card refund is initiated from a subsidiary account and the sub-account lacks sufficient funds, PCE checks the Master account's balance and processes the refund by placing a hold on the Master account.

Returns and chargebacks

When a return or chargeback is received on a subsidiary account, PCE automatically uses the Master account's balance — and, when required, the customer's recovery accounts — to recover the funds. This keeps exceptions on a subsidiary account processing reliably even when the sub-account is short.

How funds are recovered is governed by the customer's configuration, which is managed centrally. See Customer Preferences.

Scenario

Master M1 = $100, Sub S1 = $100. An ACH debit return of $500 is received on S1.

• PCE processes the return from S1, updating balances to Master M1 = −$300 (Hold of $400), Sub S1 = −$400.
• Because the Master account's available balance is negative and an exception was received on the sub-account, PCE marks the Master account as Debit-blocked, and the recovery flow is not triggered.

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Disable the service

A customer can disable Target Balance Service at any time; the change takes effect the next day. Disabling delinks the Master and subsidiary accounts and stops all automatic fund transfers between them from the next day.

• Disable through the Customer Portal (UI): open the Target Balance Service page and click Disable. All TBA rules and auto-sweeps stop.
• Disable through the API: call the Disable Target Balance Service endpoint.

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Current limitations

The following are not yet supported for Target Balance Accounts:

• A debit card issued on a subsidiary account draws only on the subsidiary account's balance, not the Master account's balance.
• Card processing.
• Fee rate card.
• Alerts for pending transactions.
• Program Manager and Ops Portal enhancements.

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See also

• Accounts: the Passport accounts and account types a TBA setup links together
• Account Lifecycle: the ACTIVE and BLOCKED states referenced above
• Customer Preferences: related default-account and recovery configuration
• Exceptions & reconciliation: how returns and chargebacks are reviewed and resolved