What problems is Wave solving and how is that benefiting you?
I have used Wave for business accounting and payment processing for years. The purpose was to save administrative time. My recent experience has made the service no longer worthwhile.
On July 24, 2026, a client paid a legitimate $15,669.83 Wave-generated invoice. Wave charged its 1% fee but did not transfer the funds. Wave then disabled payment processing and demanded an extensive package of documents, including my contract with the client, emails and texts with the client, proof of client satisfaction, three months of bank statements, business-registration documents, identity verification, refund policies, advertising information, and prior payment-processing records.
My business is an established professional consulting firm. Wave already had the invoice, the linked bank account, years of payment history, and extensive information about my invoicing activity. The $15,669.83 invoice was smaller than my average invoice. The client is a large U.S. law firm.
Because I was retained as an expert witness, the requested client agreements and communications may contain confidential litigation information, attorney work product, or privileged material. I explained that I was not authorized to provide those documents to a third-party payment processor and asked Wave to rely on its own records and publicly available business information.
Wave repeatedly responded by copying and pasting the same generic checklist without addressing my questions. It ultimately stated that it would hold the bank payment for 70 days and then refund it to the client if I did not provide the requested materials. Wave also said it could not reverse or refund the transaction sooner, although it suggested that the client ask its bank to attempt a reversal.
This means Wave accepted the client’s money, charged a fee, declined to remit the payment, and placed the burden on my client and me to recover the funds.
Businesses considering Wave Payments should understand that a legitimate payment may be subjected to a lengthy hold after it has been accepted, and that Wave may demand highly intrusive client and banking documentation regardless of the company’s history with Wave. The accounting software may be convenient, but this payment-processing experience created far more work, delay, and client inconvenience than the service saved. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.