Payments and Payouts Policy

Intended model and current mismatch

Vendiaro intends to be a marketplace venue where independent sellers list and sell their products and Vendiaro earns a disclosed seller fee. Owner's chosen target architecture: Stripe Connect direct charges on the seller's connected account, with a disclosed Vendiaro commission collected as an application fee. This is a design decision only—not approved for live. Stripe documents direct charges as charges created on the connected account, with platform fees collected from the charge. Under the selected Express account/dashboard model, Stripe's controller settings generally make the platform responsible for payment fees and connected-account negative balances. If verified for this Stripe account, Vendiaro—not sellers—would pay Stripe processing costs and bear substantial loss exposure. Confirm these exact account settings with Stripe; do not promise this cost allocation before verification.

Proposed buyer payment

When checkout is lawfully enabled, a buyer should see before confirmation: seller identity/disclosure as required; item amount; shipping; tax; any platform or payment-related fee; total; payment provider; and cancellation/return terms. Payment credentials should be collected by Stripe-hosted Checkout or equivalent PCI-compliant provider components. Vendiaro should not store full card numbers or security codes.

Proposed seller fee and payout disclosures

The current internal proposal is an 8% seller commission with a $1 minimum, capped at the item price, and no buyer service fee. This is not final or live. Under the selected target model, the fee basis is item subtotal (excluding shipping and tax). Proposed seller-facing approach: seller pays only Vendiaro's disclosed commission; Vendiaro pays Stripe processing fees under the Express configuration, if Stripe confirms it; buyer pays item, shipping, and applicable tax. This can make the marketplace more attractive to sellers, but compresses Vendiaro's margin and leaves Vendiaro exposed to processing costs and negative balances. The final seller terms must specify refunds, chargeback/dispute allocation, payout schedule, holds/reserves, negative balances, and any other seller charges before accepting orders.

Under the selected target model, payouts should be made by Stripe from the seller's connected account to its verified payout destination after Stripe onboarding and required verification. Sellers connect their own bank account in Stripe-hosted/embedded onboarding; Vendiaro should not collect bank credentials directly. The balance is subject to Stripe payout settings and eligibility, not an instant Vendiaro transfer. Do not promise a fixed date until seller-specific configuration supports it. Show payout state and reason in seller tools.

Holds, refunds, and disputes

Any hold must have a disclosed purpose, trigger, review cadence, release condition, and appeal/support path. Do not describe Vendiaro as “holding escrow” unless counsel and Stripe approve a true escrow arrangement. Refund and transfer-reversal procedures must reconcile order records, platform balance, seller balance, fees, and return status. Define who funds chargebacks and negative balances in the final Connect configuration and contract. Disputes may require Vendiaro to respond to Stripe even where a seller caused the underlying issue.

Tax and legal gating

Vendiaro was founded/operates in Tucson, Arizona. Arizona Department of Revenue guidance says a marketplace facilitator with physical presence in Arizona must obtain a TPT license regardless of sales volume, and describes marketplace facilitator status by reference to operating a marketplace and accepting payment on behalf of retailers. The owner previously stated the TPT license is still in process. Resolve classification, licensing, collection, sourcing, filing, and seller notices with an Arizona marketplace-tax professional before paid checkout. Other states may also impose registration and collection duties.

Using Stripe Connect does not categorically “sidestep” money-transmission licensing. Payment processor designation, who accepts/controls funds, how proceeds are transferred, account agreements, state definitions/exemptions, and actual operation all matter. Obtain payments counsel analysis for Arizona and each state served; do not treat this policy as a legal conclusion.

Current controls and launch gates

• Checkout and payout features remain disabled until legal role/funds flow, Connect review, tax, pricing, refund/dispute operations, webhook reconciliation, and production tests are approved.
• Maintain separate test and production Stripe keys/webhooks; never put secrets in browser code, source control, or logs.
• Test seller onboarding, payment success/failure, duplicate webhooks, cancellation, refund, transfer reversal, dispute, payout failure, and audit trail in test mode.
• Publish matching Seller Terms, Buyer Protection, Returns & Refunds, Privacy, and checkout disclosures before launch.