Stripe for Marketplaces: Handling Refunds Across Two Parties
Refunds are the most commonly under-designed part of a marketplace payment architecture.
Zeeshan
Founder · Published
Refunds are the most commonly under-designed part of a marketplace payment architecture.
Zeeshan
Founder · Published
A refund on a marketplace transaction touches three parties — buyer, seller, and platform — and someone has to decide, explicitly, who funds it.
Platform-funded refunds are simpler to implement but expose you to absorbing losses on seller-caused refunds. Seller-funded refunds are fairer but require pulling funds back from a seller's balance, which can fail if they've already been paid out.
This decision affects your Terms of Service, your payout timing, and your dispute-handling code — retrofitting it after launch is significantly more expensive than deciding upfront.
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