Marketplace Fresh

Build a marketplace to connect sellers with customers and facilitate the exchange of goods or services.

What a marketplace integration looks like

• Your platform is the merchant of record — customers see your brand, not the seller's
• You collect payment from buyers
• You pay out to sellers after taking a fee
• You pay Stripe fees and manage disputes

Charge types for marketplaces

Charge type	When to use
Destination charges	Single seller per transaction. Platform charges the customer and transfers to seller.
Separate charges + transfers	Multiple sellers per transaction, or seller unknown at time of charge.

Destination charges (single seller)

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d amount=10000 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d "transfer_data[destination]=acct_SELLER" \
  -d "transfer_data[amount]=8500" \
  -d "automatic_payment_methods[enabled]=true"

The platform keeps $15 (1500 cents), the seller receives $85 (8500 cents).

Alternatively use application_fee_amount to have Stripe deduct the fee after the full amount is transferred:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d amount=10000 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d "transfer_data[destination]=acct_SELLER" \
  -d application_fee_amount=1500

Separate charges + transfers (multi-seller)

Create a charge on the platform, then create separate transfers to each seller:

# Step 1: Create charge on platform
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d amount=20000 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d "automatic_payment_methods[enabled]=true"

# Step 2: Transfer to seller A
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/transfers \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d amount=9000 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d destination=acct_SELLER_A \
  -d "source_transaction=ch_CHARGE_ID"

# Step 3: Transfer to seller B
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/transfers \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d amount=8000 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d destination=acct_SELLER_B \
  -d "source_transaction=ch_CHARGE_ID"

Platform keeps 3000 cents ($30) from the $200 transaction.

Monetization

Common revenue strategies:

• Commission per transaction — keep a percentage of each sale via application_fee_amount or partial transfer
• Listing fees — charge sellers a subscription via Stripe Billing
• Premium features — Instant Payouts for accelerated access to funds (you earn the fee)
• Issuing — give sellers branded cards to pay with

Use the platform pricing tool in Dashboard → Connect → Platform pricing to automate application fee logic.

Merchant risk

Your platform covers negative balances of your connected accounts. Implement risk controls:

• Use Radar for Platforms to screen for high-risk sellers and buyers
• Set reserve requirements on connected accounts
• Monitor balance.available and connected account balances

Seller onboarding

Use Stripe-hosted onboarding or embedded components:

# Create connected account for seller
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/accounts \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d "controller[fees][payer]=application" \
  -d "controller[losses][payments]=application" \
  -d "controller[stripe_dashboard][type]=express"

# Create onboarding link
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/account_links \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d "account={{SELLER_ACCOUNT_ID}}" \
  --data-urlencode "refresh_url=https://example.com/refresh" \
  --data-urlencode "return_url=https://example.com/return" \
  -d type=account_onboarding \
  -d "collection_options[fields]=eventually_due"

Seller dashboard

Give sellers visibility into their sales and payouts via:

• Express Dashboard — Stripe-hosted mini-dashboard for payouts and dispute management
• Embedded components — Mount account management UI inside your application

Key webhook events for marketplaces

Event	Action
payment_intent.succeeded	Fulfill the order, trigger seller payout
account.updated	Check if seller has unmet requirements
payout.failed	Notify seller to update bank details
charge.dispute.created	Start dispute response process
transfer.reversed	Track reversal for refund accounting