# Set up your payout account

> Connect a bank account to get paid: the country you pick, verifying your identity, the tax form, when you can withdraw, and changing your account later.

- Source: https://awaitful.com/docs/set-up-payouts
- Updated: August 6, 2026

Getting paid means connecting a bank account, once. You can keep earning before you do it - your balance waits in US dollars and never expires - and set this up whenever you are ready.

*Figure: Setting up collects three things: your country, your bank, and a tax form. For US accounts, Stripe's secure onboarding does all three in one pass. Once connected, you withdraw whenever your balance has cleared.*

## How connecting works

1.  ### Pick the country your bank is in
    
    This is fixed when your account is created, so choose the country your bank is really in, not one you want to try out. Changing it later means setting the account up again.
    
2.  ### Verify your identity and bank
    
    For US accounts this happens on Stripe's secure onboarding: a government ID, your bank account, and your tax form, in one pass. For Indian accounts it runs through Awaitful's own form instead, with your tax form and Wise transfer details collected in three short steps; see [Payouts to India, via Wise](https://awaitful.com/docs/payouts-to-india) for exactly how. Either way, your bank details go only to the provider that pays you, so we never hold your full account number.
    
3.  ### You are connected
    
    Your Payouts page shows the account once the provider confirms it. From then on you can withdraw whenever your balance has cleared.
    

## The tax form

A tax form confirms your tax status, so no tax is held back that you do not owe. A withdrawal cannot run until it is on file. For US accounts, Stripe collects the right form (a W-9 or a W-8) during onboarding, so there is nothing extra to do.

## When you can withdraw

Your cleared balance, above the minimum. Earnings clear a few days after you earn them; the exact holdback, the minimum, and the three states your balance moves through are in [Payouts and your balance](https://awaitful.com/docs/payouts).

## Changing your account

You can replace your payout account any time, unless a withdrawal is on the way - to get paid into a different bank, for example. The change never touches your balance, and every past payout keeps a record of the account it went to.

**Payouts go live in the dashboard**

While the marketplace is early, the Payouts page tells you plainly whether withdrawals are open for your account, and shows a test-mode banner whenever money on this server is play money. Until withdrawals are open, everything you earn still accrues, safe in US dollars.