To pay affiliates with store credit, Affiliate and Referral Program for WooCommerce gives every affiliate a wallet: approved commissions land there, and the affiliate chooses whether to withdraw the balance as money or convert it into a store coupon and spend it with you. This guide explains the wallet lifecycle, withdrawal limits, and the wallet-to-coupon feature. Sending the actual money is covered in Pay Affiliates via PayPal, Stripe and Bank. Part of the plugin documentation.
How the wallet fills
↑ Back to topThe wallet is credited at the moment a commission is approved — by you on the Manage Referrals screen, or automatically when Affiliate Referral Automation approves commissions on order completion. Pending commissions are visible to the affiliate but not yet spendable. Every earning type ends up in the same wallet: sale commissions, multi-tier earnings, and bonuses.
Withdrawals
↑ Back to topFrom the dashboard’s Payout tab the affiliate requests a withdrawal for any amount up to their balance, within the limits you set on the Commission screen:
- Minimum amount of money an affiliate needs to withdraw – requests below this are refused.
- Maximum amount of money an affiliate can withdraw – caps a single request.
The wallet is debited when the request is made, not when you pay it — the requested amount is committed immediately and there is no cancel button for a submitted request. Encourage affiliates to request amounts they mean.
Turn wallet balance into a store coupon
↑ Back to topStore credit is the cheapest payout you can offer — the money stays in your store. Enable it on the Commission screen with Activate Generation of Coupons, and optionally set a floor with Minimum amount for Coupon generation. The affiliate then generates a coupon from their dashboard:
- The coupon’s value is deducted from the wallet at generation.
- It is locked to the affiliate’s own email address and is single-use.
- If the order it is used on comes to less than the coupon, the unused remainder is carried into a fresh coupon automatically — no credit is lost.
Wallet coupons are a way to spend earnings — they are not the tracked coupons affiliates share to earn commission. Assigning promotional coupons to affiliates is a separate feature with its own guide in the documentation.
Two balances, two programs
↑ Back to topAffiliate wallets and customer referral credits are separate balances in separate programs. A customer earning credit through the Refer a Friend program has a store-credit balance in My Account; an affiliate has a wallet in the affiliate dashboard. They never mix, and each generates its own coupons.
Track wallet activity
↑ Back to topEvery withdrawal request and payout is recorded and visible on both sides: affiliates see their history in the dashboard’s Payout tab, and you see every request with its status and Payment Details on the Payouts screen.
FAQ
↑ Back to topWhen is the wallet credited?
↑ Back to topOn approval of each commission — never at order time. Pending commissions are not spendable.
Do wallet coupons expire?
↑ Back to topNo — deliberately. The coupon is the affiliate’s own earned money, so it carries no expiry date, is single-use, restricted to their email, and cannot be redeemed beyond its value.
Can an affiliate hold both cash and credit?
↑ Back to topYes. The wallet is one balance; the affiliate decides per amount whether to request a withdrawal or generate a coupon, in any mix.