my earnings have been finalised for the month. does this mean i will 100% be paid or is there still a chance i could be banned
If you didn't do anything wrong like clicking your own ads, than there is no reason that you won't get paid
Even though the earnings are finalized they do not send out checks or payments till after the 16th of the month. Once that date passes then you should be able to earn the money unless they decide to ban you on the 16th day of the month. I know that this has happened to people before. So as Nystul said until you have the money at hand it is still in Google's hands.