> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rafflex.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rafflex.io/drawing-winners/managing-payouts/instant-win-site-credit-payouts.md).

# Site Credit Instant Win Payouts

Why site credit and Winlink instant win prizes pay out automatically, never appear in your unpaid Instant Winners list or on your Dashboard, and should never be paid again by hand.

If you have set up an instant win prize as **site credit**, you do not need to pay it. The platform settles it for you the moment a customer wins. The win is marked as paid automatically and the prize amount lands straight in the customer's [site credit wallet](/additional-settings/site-credit-and-wallets.md), ready for them to spend on future purchases.

**Winlink** prizes (free tickets in another competition) are handled automatically in the same way. The win is marked as paid as soon as it happens and the free tickets are added for the customer.

That is why these wins do not show up in your usual Instant Winners list. It is working exactly as intended.

{% hint style="success" %}
A site credit or Winlink win is already paid the instant it happens. There is nothing for you to ship, transfer, or tick off.
{% endhint %}

***

### The two kinds of instant win prize

Instant win prizes are settled in one of two completely different ways, depending on how you set the prize up.

* **Physical or cash prizes** (you settle these by hand). When a customer wins, the prize appears in your Instant Winners list as unpaid. It is your job to post the item or send the cash payment using the bank details shown, then mark the winner as paid. This is the flow described in [Managing Instant Winners](/drawing-winners/managing-instant-winners.md).
* **Site credit and Winlink prizes** (the platform settles these for you). When you [create the prize](/create-your-first-raffle/add-instant-wins.md), there is a **Site Credit** toggle and a **Winlink** toggle. With **Site Credit** on, you enter a **Payout** amount. With **Winlink** on, you choose the competition and the number of free tickets. From then on, every win of that prize is settled automatically with no action from you.

These two toggles decide which group a prize belongs to. If either is on, the prize pays out automatically. If both are off, you settle it by hand.

***

### What happens when a customer wins a site credit prize

The instant a customer's number matches a site credit instant win, three things happen on their behalf:

1. The payout amount is added straight to their **site credit wallet**. In their wallet it shows as **Instant Win Payout! On order #** followed by the order number.
2. The win is **marked as paid** for you.
3. The customer is sent the instant win email, which tells them the money has been paid into their wallet and is ready to use.

If one order wins several site credit prizes at once, each one appears as its own entry in the customer's wallet, and their balance goes up straight away.

You do not need to lift a finger, and you should never send a separate bank transfer for one of these wins.

{% hint style="danger" %}
Do not pay a site credit win by hand. The amount is already in the customer's wallet. Sending a bank transfer on top of that would pay them twice.
{% endhint %}

If the customer later wants that credit in their bank account, they can ask to withdraw it from their wallet. That is a separate withdrawal request, which you handle on the **Withdrawals** page. See [Processing Withdrawals](/essential-settings/wallet-and-withdrawals/processing-withdrawals.md).

***

### What happens when a customer wins a Winlink prize

A Winlink win is marked as paid straight away and the free tickets are added in the linked competition. If the tickets cannot be added (for example because the linked competition has ended or sold out), the customer receives site credit instead. See [What Happens to a Winlink Prize](/create-your-first-raffle/add-instant-wins/winlink-explained.md) for the full details.

***

### Why these wins seem to vanish from the list

Your Instant Winners list opens with the **Only Show Unpaid** filter switched on. Site credit and Winlink wins are already marked as paid the moment they happen, so they are hidden by that filter. That is why these wins never appear in the view you normally work from.

They are also left out of the **Latest Unpaid Instant Wins** cards on your [Dashboard](/managing-your-site/dashboard.md), which only show prizes you still need to pay or send yourself.

This is normal. An empty or short Instant Winners list does not mean there have been no wins. It usually means the recent wins were site credit or Winlink prizes that have already been settled.

To see them:

1. Go to **Management**, then **Instant Winners** in the admin menu.
2. Click the **Filter** icon (the funnel) at the top right of the list.
3. Switch off the **Only Show Unpaid** filter.

The full list now shows, including wins that have already been settled. The **Paid** column lets you tell at a glance which wins are settled and which are still waiting on you.

{% hint style="info" %}
If a customer says they received site credit you were not expecting to send, that is the automatic payout doing its job. Nothing has gone wrong. You can check it on their customer account, under the **Instant Wins** and **Wallet Transactions** tabs.
{% endhint %}

***

### A quick checklist before you pay any instant win

* Check whether the prize is a **physical or cash prize**, a **site credit prize** or a **Winlink prize**. The **Site Credit** and **Winlink** toggles on the prize tell you.
* Only **physical and cash prizes** need you to post an item or send a payment, then mark the winner as paid.
* **Site credit prizes** are already paid into the customer's wallet. Never send a bank transfer for one.
* **Winlink prizes** are already delivered as free tickets (or site credit). There is nothing to send.
* If your unpaid list looks empty, turn off **Only Show Unpaid** to reveal wins that have already been settled.

***

For the day to day process of paying physical and cash prizes, see the main guides.

{% content-ref url="/pages/MFr2YjHjOV28maULYfzg" %}
[Paying Winners](/drawing-winners/managing-payouts.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/Frx9AvROcbznuZAAjksI" %}
[Managing Instant Winners](/drawing-winners/managing-instant-winners.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}