South Africa Payout Methods

[Aaron1476]

Hi Everyone,

I’m an Airbnb host in South Africa. My first payout went through successfully to my Investec account, but none of the subsequent payouts have arrived. I understand that Airbnb uses Bidvest as the payment processor for South African hosts, and that a Bidvest mandate form needs to be completed to receive payouts.

However, I haven’t received any form or email from Airbnb or Bidvest, and I’m not sure how to get it. I’ve already added my Investec account in my payout settings, but payments are still not being processed.

I’ve also contacted Airbnb customer service multiple times, but they haven’t been helpful. The agents I’ve spoken to either don’t know about the Bidvest process or can’t guide me on how to submit the form, so I’m still stuck.

Has anyone else in South Africa experienced this? How did you get the Bidvest form and complete it? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

[Shelley159]

You can use the email at the bottom of this help article @Aaron1476 

It's worked for others.

Hosts in South Africa must submit their Bidvest form annually - Airbnb Help Center

[Paula]

Hello @Aaron1476, Whenever you have a minute, it would be great if you could share whether following Shelley’s advice has resolved the situation.

I also wanted to reach out to two more hosts in South Africa to see if they would like to share their experiences: @Thembelihle1 and @Deena61 

Regards,

[Thembelihle1]

Hi @Aaron1476 

From my experience, the most common reason payouts don’t go through in South Africa is the Bidvest mandate. If the mandate isn’t signed correctly or if even one detail doesn’t match your bank records exactly, the payment gets rejected and sent back to Airbnb.

It’s surprising that your first payout went through without the mandate, but working with different clients(hosts) has shown me  a lot of inconsistencies in how Airbnb/Bidvest handle different cases anyway. Each situation can be unique.

Here are a few steps you can take:

1. Check your Earnings Dashboard

   • Go to your Airbnb Earnings page and see whether payouts show as Pending, Upcoming, or Paid.

   • If a payout was rejected, clicking on the transaction usually shows a message like “payouts are paused” or “payout method invalid.”

2. Re‑add your payout method

   • If you see that message, remove your current bank account and re‑add it.

   • Copy the details exactly as they appear on your bank statement (including titles like “Mr” or initials). Even small differences can cause rejection.

3. Mandate form

   • Once Airbnb/Bidvest trigger the mandate, you’ll receive the form. Fill it in carefully—names, contact numbers, and account details must match your bank records exactly.

   • If something is wrong, the system usually highlights the error in red so you can correct it. Once accepted, payouts are processed within 24 hours.

4. Communication with Airbnb

   • Airbnb support can be frustrating, but they usually send repeated reminders if something is missing. If they’re holding your payouts, they should state the reason clearly.

   • If you’re not seeing any communication, double‑check your Airbnb email notifications and spam folder.

If you’d like, you can share a screenshot of your Earnings dashboard (with sensitive details hidden) so we can see whether payouts are showing as pending or rejected. That will help pinpoint the issue.

Best of luck! ... I know how stressful payout delays can be, but once the mandate is sorted, payments usually flow smoothly.

[Deena61]

Hi @Aaron1476

I’ve only been hosting on Airbnb for about a year and a month now, but I have had to go through the Bidvest mandate process twice so far. In my experience, the mandate verification does take some time to finalise.

When I first started hosting, it took roughly 7 days for the Bidvest mandate to be processed and approved before payouts started flowing normally. Earlier this year I had to complete the process again, and it took about 10 days to be finalised.

From what you described, the advice shared by Shelley in the article and @Thembelihle1 in the response above is very sound. In most cases the delay happens because something on the mandate form does not match the banking details exactly as they appear on the bank’s records. Even small differences in initials, titles, or formatting can cause the verification to fail. If you have not been receiving payouts for a while, my suspicion is that there may be a mismatch between the details on the mandate form and the banking information you submitted to Airbnb.

I would recommend continuing to follow up with Airbnb support and asking them to escalate the matter, especially if payouts have been delayed for an extended period. Someone on their payments team should be able to check whether the mandate has been triggered or if it was rejected.

Out of curiosity, I have also wondered whether Airbnb would ever consider paying interest on delayed payouts if they extend beyond a certain period. I am not aware of such a policy at present, but it may be something worth querying with them.

I hope you manage to get it resolved soon. Once the mandate is properly verified, payouts usually run smoothly.

Best of luck, and I hope it gets sorted out quickly.

Regards

Deena

[Aaron1476 · Accepted solution]

Thanks everyone for replying, it was a long process but managed to get through to the correct person and get the bidvest mandate submitted!

[Shelley159]

Great @Aaron1476 , thank you for letting us know how it turned out!

[Paula]

Glad to hear this @Aaron1476, Thanks for the update 😊