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FractionalPay

Use case, marketplaces

Split payments for marketplaces

Split payments for marketplaces means one customer order is divided between the seller, your platform fee and anyone else who touched it, the moment the payment succeeds. FractionalPay does that by rule, then holds, pays out and reverses each share.

This page follows one order through a marketplace from checkout to the seller's bank account, including the return that comes back nine days later.

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  • Seller, platform and delivery partner split on every order
  • Part of the seller share held through the return window
  • Refunds reversed across every share, already paid or not

Order #48213

Split

Gross payment

$250.00 USD

  • Seller $200.00
  • Platform $37.50
  • Delivery partner $12.50
Seller, platform and delivery add up to the order $250.00

The life of one order

From checkout to the seller's payout

A buyer pays 250.00 USD for a ceramic dinner set. On a marketplace that single payment already belongs to three parties: the seller who made the set, your platform, and the courier that collects it. Here is what happens to it, step by step, when FractionalPay sits on your payment account.

  1. 01

    Checkout succeeds

    The payment lands in your own platform account at your payment operator. Your checkout and your customer experience do not change.

  2. 02

    The order splits

    The marketplace rule matches: delivery partner takes a fixed 12.50 USD, the seller 80 percent, the platform 15 percent. Allocations and a balanced ledger entry are written at once.

  3. 03

    The return window runs

    Part of the seller share stays held for 14 days, so a return never leaves you chasing a seller who has already been paid.

  4. 04

    Payouts go out

    Available shares join the weekly payout run on Friday, the held part follows when the window closes, and each step fires a signed webhook.

Payouts for order #48213

November 2026

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun

1

2

3

4

5

6

$160

$13

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

$40

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

  • Nov 6 · Seller, available share $160.00Paid
  • Nov 6 · Delivery partner $12.50Paid
  • Nov 13 · Seller, held share $40.00Held
Weekly payouts on Fridays, held share released after 14 days

Worked example

Order #48213 split three ways

The rule behind this order has one fixed line and two percentage lines. Fixed amounts come off first, then the percentages are taken from the gross order, and the platform is the remainder party, so any leftover cent from rounding lands with you and never with a seller.

  • Seller

    Rule
    80%
    Share
    $200.00
    Status after split
    $160.00 available, $40.00 held

  • Platform

    Rule
    15%
    Share
    $37.50
    Status after split
    Platform revenue

  • Delivery partner

    Rule
    Fixed $12.50
    Share
    $12.50
    Status after split
    Available

  • Total

    Rule
    Share
    $250.00
    Status after split

The hold is a line on the rule, not a manual task: 20 percent of the seller share, 40.00 USD here, waits in a reserve account for 14 days. Holds and reserves are part of the Growth plan. On Starter the full share becomes available on the payout schedule you set.

Your operators see the same numbers in the dashboard that your engineers get back from the API, and finance sees them in the ledger. Nobody rebuilds the split in a spreadsheet at month end.

Ledger journal

Balanced

txn_7MK48213 ·Split of order #48213 by rule v4

  • Operator balance (your account) Dr$250.00
  • Payable to Seller Cr$160.00
  • Reserve for Seller Cr$40.00
  • Platform revenue Cr$37.50
  • Payable to Delivery partner Cr$12.50

TotalDr $250.00 · Cr $250.00

Returns and refunds

The buyer returns part of the order

Nine days later the buyer sends back four plates and gets 100.00 USD back, 40 percent of the order. FractionalPay mirrors the refund from your operator account and reverses every share by the same 40 percent, the courier fee included. If your rule says platform first, the platform share is reversed before anyone else's instead.

A 100 USD refund on the 250 USD order, reversed in proportion

  • Seller

    Original
    $200.00
    Reversed
    -$80.00
    After refund
    $120.00

  • Platform

    Original
    $37.50
    Reversed
    -$15.00
    After refund
    $22.50

  • Delivery partner

    Original
    $12.50
    Reversed
    -$5.00
    After refund
    $7.50

  • Total

    Original
    $250.00
    Reversed
    -$100.00
    After refund
    $150.00

The seller had already received 160.00 USD on Friday, and 40.00 USD was still held. The reversal of 80.00 USD takes the held 40.00 USD first, and the other 40.00 USD becomes a negative balance that is deducted from the seller's next payout. Both steps are ledger entries, so the seller statement shows exactly why the next payout is smaller.

The delivery partner was paid in full too. Its 5.00 USD reversal is carried the same way. You decide per rule whether delivery is reversed or protected, and the choice is recorded with the rule version.

Split rule

Version 4 · Active

Rule name

Home goods, standard sellers

Applies to

Product category is home

  1. 1 Delivery partner $12.50
  2. 2 Seller Hold 20% for 14 days 80%
Remainder and rounding go to Platform Test on $250.00 passes

The operator's view

Sellers get paid on time and can see why

Sellers rarely complain about the fee. They complain about payouts that arrive late, amounts nobody can explain and refunds that appear months later as a mystery deduction. Every one of those comes from a split that was calculated by hand.

With rules running on every order, your support team answers a seller question by opening the order: the share, the hold, the refund and the payout it went into are on one screen. If you are still choosing how money should flow on your platform, start with marketplace payments; if your sellers mainly ask about timing, see marketplace payouts.

  • One rule per category, seller tier or product type
  • Beneficiaries linked to their connected account at your operator
  • Payout schedules daily, weekly or monthly with a minimum amount

Three ways to run it

Marketplace splits by hand, built in house or by rule

Most marketplaces start with a spreadsheet and a weekly bank transfer, then ask engineering to build split logic once the seller count grows. Here is how the three approaches compare on the parts that cause trouble.

  • Split at the moment of payment

    FractionalPay
    Yes
    Spreadsheet and manual transfers
    No
    Built in house
    Yes

  • Holds through the return window

    FractionalPay
    Rule line (Growth)
    Spreadsheet and manual transfers
    By memory
    Built in house
    Months of work

  • Refund reversed across every share

    FractionalPay
    Yes
    Spreadsheet and manual transfers
    No
    Built in house
    If someone builds it

  • Double-entry ledger per seller

    FractionalPay
    Yes
    Spreadsheet and manual transfers
    No
    Built in house
    Months of work

  • Daily reconciliation with the operator

    FractionalPay
    Growth
    Spreadsheet and manual transfers
    No
    Built in house
    Rarely

  • Money stays in your own account

    FractionalPay
    Yes
    Spreadsheet and manual transfers
    Yes
    Built in house
    Yes

FractionalPay is not a payment institution. Payments stay in your platform account at your licensed payment operator; we calculate the splits, keep the ledger and send payout instructions to that account, and we never hold, pool or transmit funds.

What marketplaces use

Features a marketplace turns on first

A young marketplace usually runs on Starter with one rule and a weekly payout. Holds, reconciliation and tax data come with Growth, when returns and seller volume start to matter. Plans and flow limits are on the pricing page.

Each feature is included from the plan shown and in every plan above it. Compare plans.

  • Percentage and fixed lines

    Starter+

    Seller share, platform fee and fixed delivery or packaging lines with a remainder party.

  • Weekly seller payouts

    Starter+

    Payout schedules with a minimum amount, so small balances roll into the next run.

  • Proportional refunds

    Starter+

    Returns and chargebacks reversed across every share, with negative balances carried forward.

  • Return window holds

    Growth+

    Hold a percentage of the seller share until the window closes, then release it automatically.

  • Reconciliation alerts

    Growth+

    Your ledger matched to operator balance transactions every day, with mismatches flagged.

  • Seller tax data

    Growth+

    Tax form status per seller and yearly earnings statements for your accountant.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Something else on your mind? Write to [email protected] or read the API documentation.

Does the money for each order pass through FractionalPay?
No. The buyer pays into your own platform account at your payment operator and the money stays there. FractionalPay calculates each share, keeps the ledger and instructs that account to pay sellers. We never hold, pool or transmit funds and we are not a payment institution.
Can different sellers or categories have different fees?
Yes. Each rule matches on product or metadata, such as category or seller tier, and rules have a priority. A payment uses the first rule that matches, and the rule version is stored with every split.
What happens when a seller has already been paid and the buyer returns the item?
The refund is reversed across every share. Any held amount is used first, and the rest becomes a negative balance that is deducted from the seller's next payout, with ledger entries for each step.
How does a hold for the return window work?
You add a hold to a rule line, for example 20 percent of the seller share for 14 days. The amount sits in a reserve account and is released automatically when the period ends, firing hold.released. Holds and reserves are on the Growth plan.
Do we need engineers to set this up?
No. You connect your account, add sellers as beneficiaries and build the rule in the dashboard. Engineers can use the API and webhooks later, for example to create sellers from your onboarding flow.
Do you take a cut of each order?
No. FractionalPay is a flat monthly subscription with a split flow limit of 100,000, 1,000,000 or 10,000,000 USD per month. Your operator's own processing fees stay as they are.

Split your own marketplace order

Put a real order amount and your seller, platform and delivery shares into the simulator and see the ledger and payout dates it produces.

Try the split simulator See pricing

No transaction fees from us. Runs on your own payment account at a licensed operator. FractionalPay never holds your funds.