Payment Infrastructure

Marketplace Payment System

On a single-seller site the money lands in one account and stays there. On a marketplace the same basket can hold products from several sellers; who is owed how much has to be determined in the transaction itself. This page walks through the path the money takes, step by step.

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The buyer pays once, the amount splits automatically
One paymentThe buyer pays once, the amount splits automatically
The seller's share separates at the payment institution
Sub-merchantsThe seller's share separates at the payment institution
Tied to delivery confirmation or a fixed day count
Flexible payoutsTied to delivery confirmation or a fixed day count
Balance, deductions and withdrawal requests on one screen
WalletBalance, deductions and withdrawal requests on one screen

Why Is Marketplace Payment Designed Differently?

A marketplace payment system is structurally different from the payment infrastructure of a single-seller e-commerce site. In the classic design the money lands in one account and stays there. On a marketplace the same basket can hold products from several sellers; the buyer pays once, but who is owed how much of that amount has to be determined in the transaction itself. That is exactly what we mean by split payment.

Why this matters becomes clear on the legal side. If the seller's share lands in your account first and is transferred by hand afterwards, you have technically held that money for a period; this is a difficult position both under payment services regulation and in your accounts, where it looks like your own revenue. The sub-merchant structure solves that: the payment institution registers the sellers in its own system, and at the moment of collection your commission goes to you while the remainder is credited directly to the seller's sub-account.

The third layer is timing. The money having been separated does not mean the seller should be able to withdraw it straight away. Because of the return window, delivery confirmation and chargeback risk, when earnings open for payout is a separate decision. In PazaryeriSoft that rule is defined separately by category, seller type or seller tier.

The four layers that shape payment

  • Splitting at the moment of the transaction

    Commission and the seller's share separate in the collection itself; no manual transfer follows.

  • Sub-merchants

    Sellers are registered at the payment institution; the amount is credited straight to their sub-account.

  • The payout window

    When funds open for withdrawal can be delayed to cover return and chargeback risk.

  • The wallet layer

    Balance, pending amount and withdrawable amount are tracked separately.

Money Flow

The Path a Payment Takes From Collection to Accounting

Each of the six steps is tied to its own rule set; how you design each one defines your whole model.

  1. The buyer pays once

    Even when the basket holds products from several sellers, the buyer makes a single payment. Card, bank transfer or wallet balance can be used; instalment options are shown according to the campaigns on the payment gateway side.

  2. The amount splits at the moment of the transaction

    The commission rate is calculated across the order lines. The platform's share and the seller's share are recorded as separate lines; the calculation is made at the moment of collection, not afterwards.

  3. The seller's share is credited to the sub-merchant

    Thanks to the sub-merchant structure at the payment institution, the seller's share reaches their account without passing through yours. That is the correct position both for regulation and for accounting.

  4. Earnings enter the holding period

    The amount is credited to the seller's balance but cannot be withdrawn yet. Whichever rule you chose applies — delivery confirmation, the return window or a fixed number of days.

  5. Earnings open for payout

    When the holding period expires the amount becomes withdrawable. Deductions, commission refunds and any penalty lines are settled at this step.

  6. Records are passed to accounting

    Commission income, seller earnings and deductions are held as separate lines and passed to e-invoicing and accounting integrations. Reconciliation reports are produced from these records.

Modules

Modules That Come Ready in the Payment Infrastructure

Split Payment

In a multi-seller basket the amount separates per order line. Which side the shipping fee and discount share are credited to is defined as a rule.

Sub-Merchant Management

The seller's record is opened at the payment institution, the document process is tracked through the system and its approval status appears in the seller panel.

Payout Timing Rules

Tied to delivery confirmation, a fixed number of days, or a hybrid model. The rule is varied by category, seller type and seller tier.

Seller and Customer Wallets

Balance, pending amount and withdrawable amount are shown separately. The customer wallet is used to return refunds quickly.

Refund and Partial Refund Flow

When a refund is approved the commission is reclaimed too; on partial refunds the amount is calculated per line and reflected in earnings.

Commission and Deduction Lines

Platform commission, transaction fees, service charges and any penalty deductions are tracked as separate lines.

3D Secure and Secure Collection

Card transactions run through the 3D Secure flow; failed verifications end before an order is created.

Multiple Payment Institution Support

Thanks to a provider-agnostic interface, several payment institutions can be defined and routed by region.

Reconciliation and Finance Reports

Daily collection, commission income, earnings paid and pending amount reports; the accounting close runs from this screen.

Withdrawal Request Management

The seller creates a withdrawal request and it is approved in the admin panel. An automatic approval threshold can be defined.

e-Invoicing and Accounting Integration

Commission invoices and earnings records are passed to services such as Paraşüt and BirFatura.

Permissions and Transaction Logs

Who performed which financial operation is held in the audit trail; withdrawal approval and commission changes are tied to role-based permissions.

Choosing a Model

The Three Payment Models Compared

Which model you work with is not only a technical decision but a regulatory and accounting one. For marketplaces that scale we recommend the sub-merchant model.

CriterionDirect collectionSub-merchantWallet-based
Where the money sitsAll of it gathers in the platform accountThe seller's share in a sub-account at the payment institutionIn the platform account; the seller's balance is held as a record
Transfer to the sellerBy hand or by batch transferAutomatic; it separates at the moment of the transactionBy the platform, on a withdrawal request
Regulatory positionRisky; the platform may count as having held the moneyThe cleanest position; the intermediary relationship is clearRequires contractual and regulatory advice
Accounting effectThe whole amount can look like revenueOnly commission is recorded as revenueThe separation of records is built by hand
Setup effortLowPayment institution integration and the seller document processMedium; internal accounting rules are needed
When it suitsA controlled pilot with very few sellersThe model we recommend for marketplaces that scaleModels where shopping with a balance is central
Watch Out

Four Matters to Settle While Designing This

The chargeback window

Card disputes can arrive weeks after delivery. The earnings holding period has to be set to cover that window.

The commission refund rule

Whether commission is also reclaimed on a refunded order has to be settled up front; either is workable.

Seller cash flow

The longer the holding period, the lower seller satisfaction falls. Defining a short period for trusted sellers strikes the balance.

Reconciliation discipline

Regularly comparing the payment institution's report against platform records catches discrepancies before they grow.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

The questions asked most often about marketplace payment infrastructure.

The buyer makes a single payment, but who is owed how much of it is determined in the transaction itself. The commission rate is calculated across the order lines; the platform's share and the seller's share are recorded as separate lines. If the basket holds products from several sellers, each seller's share separates from their own line. Because the calculation is made at the moment of collection rather than afterwards, no manual transfer is needed.
If the seller's share lands in your account first and is transferred by hand afterwards, you have technically held that money for a period. That is a difficult position under payment services regulation, and in your accounts the whole amount can look like your own revenue. In the sub-merchant structure the payment institution registers the sellers in its own system; at the moment of collection the commission goes to you and the remainder is credited straight to the seller's sub-account. The intermediary relationship is then clear and only your commission income is recorded as revenue.
You set the rule. The three most common designs are tying it to delivery confirmation, waiting a fixed number of days, or combining the two. The rule can be varied by category, seller type and seller tier; defining a long hold for new sellers and a short one for those with a clean history is common. When the holding period expires the amount becomes withdrawable and the seller creates a withdrawal request.
You set this as a rule; both practices are possible. Reclaiming the commission is the approach that is fair to the seller and the common preference. Leaving the commission with the platform is chosen to cover the cost of the transaction. On partial refunds the amount is calculated per line and reflected in the earnings record; if payment has already been made it is set off against the next payout.
Card disputes can arrive weeks after delivery, so the real protection is the earnings holding period; it should be long enough to cover that window. On top of that, value limits for new sellers, suspicious transaction rules and extra verification on high values can be defined. Because shipping labels and tracking numbers are generated by the system, proof of dispatch can be used in dispute processes.
Yes. Payment providers are defined through a provider-agnostic interface, so several institutions can be connected at once. This is used to route by region or currency, to take advantage of promotional instalments, or to fall back to an alternative when one provider has an outage.
Commission income, seller earnings, deductions and refunds are recorded as separate lines. Reports on daily collection, earnings paid and pending amounts are taken from the admin panel. Records can be passed to e-invoicing and accounting services such as Paraşüt and BirFatura. Regularly comparing the payment institution's report against platform records catches discrepancies before they grow.
The earnings holding mechanism gives protection close to escrow in practice: the money is collected and credited to the seller, but does not open for withdrawal until the condition you set is met. Beyond that, a full escrow flow working on a holding account model is brought in under project-specific development, and your payment institution has to support that model.

Related Pages

Marketplace Commission System

How commission is calculated, rule precedence and revenue model designs.

Marketplace Seller Management

Seller onboarding, document verification and where sub-merchant registration fits in the process.

C2C Marketplace Software

Payment and earnings design in a model built on individual sellers.

All Marketplace Features

The full account of the wallet, earnings and accounting modules.

Let's Plan Your Payment Design Together

Let's work out which payment model suits you, your payout timing and the integration steps.

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