Marketplace payments: split payments, seller payouts, licensing and providers

How do marketplaces handle payments?

A marketplace payment has three parties instead of two: the buyer, the seller and the platform that earns a commission. The buyer pays once at checkout, a licensed provider collects the money, the platform's commission is deducted, and the remainder is credited to the seller's balance and paid out to the seller's bank account later.

The hard parts are not the checkout but what happens around it: verifying every seller before they can get paid, holding funds until an order is delivered or a cancellation window closes, handling multi-seller baskets, and deciding who carries refunds and chargebacks. These requirements are why marketplace payment processing is sold as a separate product and not as a normal merchant account.

1. Buyer pays The buyer pays the full basket by card, iDEAL, SEPA or another method at the platform's checkout.
2. Provider collects and splits The licensed provider receives the funds and applies split instructions: seller share, platform commission and fees.
3. Funds are held The seller share sits in a segregated balance until delivery is confirmed or a holding period ends.
4. Seller is paid out The provider pays the seller's verified bank account on a schedule or on demand.

What are split payments and how is a €100 order divided?

A split payment is one buyer payment divided between several recipients according to rules the platform sends with the transaction or shortly after it. Providers implement it in two ways: the split is defined at payment time, or the platform collects first and transfers to sellers later, which suits multi-seller baskets and delayed delivery.

Who pays the processing fee is a commercial choice. In the example below the platform absorbs it from its commission, which keeps seller statements simple; other platforms pass it on to the seller.

Does a marketplace need a payment licence in the EU?

Receiving money from buyers and passing it on to sellers is a payment service under PSD2. The commercial agent exclusion in Article 3(b) only covers an agent authorised to negotiate or conclude sales on behalf of only the payer or only the payee, and recital 11 of PSD2 explains that platforms acting for both buyers and sellers should not benefit from it. A platform that acts for both sides or controls the funds in between therefore generally falls outside the exclusion.

PSD3 and the new Payment Services Regulation tighten this further. A provisional agreement was reached in November 2025 and final compromise texts were published in April 2026, with the new rules expected to apply around 2027 to 2028. Platforms therefore have two realistic routes: apply for their own payment institution or e-money licence, which takes months and requires capital and compliance staff, or let a licensed marketplace provider hold and move the funds so that the platform never touches seller money.

How does seller onboarding and KYC work on a marketplace?

Every seller who receives money is a customer of the licensed provider, so the provider must identify them before the first payout. For individuals that means identity documents and a bank account in their name; for companies it means registration documents, directors and every beneficial owner holding more than 25%. Most providers offer hosted or embedded onboarding forms so the platform does not store the documents itself.

Two more obligations sit with the platform. DAC7 requires platforms in the EU to report seller income to tax authorities each January, and the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation, which applies from 10 July 2027, harmonises customer due diligence across member states. Plan for sellers who fail verification: their sales should be blocked or held, not paid out.

• Individuals: name, date of birth, address, ID document, bank account in their own name
• Companies: registration extract, directors, beneficial owners above 25%, business bank account
• Tax data for DAC7: tax identification number, VAT number and address
• Ongoing checks: sanctions screening and re-verification when details change

Which marketplace payment solutions are available in Europe?

Five providers are widely used by European marketplaces. All are licensed, all hold funds on the platform's behalf and all verify sellers; they differ in licence type, how splits are modelled, method coverage and how openly they price. Only Stripe publishes platform fees; the others quote on request.

What do marketplace payments cost?

A marketplace pays the normal processing fee on every buyer payment plus platform-specific charges for seller accounts, payouts and currency conversion. On a self-serve provider the processing fee typically matches the provider's standard rates, for example 1.5% + €0.25 for EEA consumer cards; larger platforms negotiate interchange++.

Model the platform fees against your seller base, not just your volume. A marketplace with 2,000 small sellers who each sell once a month pays €4,000 in active-account fees alone at €2 per account, which can matter more than a 0.1% difference in card rates.

• Processing fee per buyer payment: typically 1.2% to 1.9% + €0.10 to €0.25 for EEA consumer cards
• Active seller account: €0 to €2 per month
• Payouts: free to 0.25% + €0.10 per payout; instant payouts typically 1%
• Cross-border payouts and FX: typically from 0.25% of payout volume plus 1% to 2% conversion
• Chargebacks: typically €15 to €25 per dispute

Who pays for refunds and chargebacks on a marketplace?

Towards the card schemes and the provider, the platform is usually liable first: if a chargeback succeeds and the seller's balance is empty, the platform pays. Your seller terms should therefore let you debit the seller's balance or future sales for refunds and lost disputes, and holding funds until delivery is the simplest way to keep balances available.

Define the rules before launch: who decides on a refund, whether commission is returned, and how long sellers must keep evidence of delivery. Chargeback evidence comes from the seller but is submitted by the platform or provider, so build a way for sellers to upload tracking numbers and correspondence.

How to add marketplace payments through OrsunPay

OrsunPay is a technical layer, not a marketplace provider: it does not hold funds or verify sellers. It connects a platform's own accounts at providers such as Stripe Connect, Adyen for Platforms or Mollie, routes buyer payments between them, triggers payouts through the provider's API and consolidates payment and payout reporting. The licensed provider remains responsible for holding funds, seller verification and payouts.