VERTICAL · marketplaces

Build for
Marketplaces

Sub-merchant onboarding, split payments, and platform payout management — the recipe for multi-vendor platforms.

-5 days to first transaction
Get Sandbox →
Build with AI
Fitness illustration
MODULE
Enterprise
integration model icon
INTEGRATION MODEL
API / Embedded
channels icon
CHANNELS
CNP, CP (optional)
time to build icon
TIME TO BUILD
~5 days

ON THIS PAGE

use case

Typical use cases

Three patterns we've seen marketplace ISVs implement most often.

Multi-vendor platform

Onboard 1,000+ sellers, split payments between platform and seller, manage automated payouts.

  

On-demand services

Gig economy platform — contractor payouts after service completion, dispute management, fraud prevention.

  

B2B supplier marketplace

Business procurement platform with invoice-based purchasing, net-30 payment terms, and supplier settlement.
use case

Required stack

What you'll wire up. Click any tile to see why it's in the recipe.

Core · Always required
 

Accept Payments

Authorize and capture transactions across CP and CNP channels.

required
APISDK
  

Unified Checkout

Hosted UI for in-clinic and online payment. SAQ-A PCI scope.

required
APISDK
  

Token Mgmt Service

Card-on-file for wellness plan auto-renewal and repeat clients.

required
APISDK
Marketplace-specific · The platform payments stack
 

Merchant Onboarding (EC)

White-label sub-merchant onboarding — KYC, bank verification, agreement sign. Embedded in your platform.

recommended
Hosted No-code
  

Fraud Management Essentials

Rule-based fraud screening per seller — different risk profiles per category.

required
API
  

Decision Manager

ML-based fraud scoring and velocity controls for high-volume marketplaces.

required
API

Reporting & Transaction Search

Per-seller settlement reports, platform-level analytics, dispute management.

required
API
  

Webhooks

Real-time event streaming — payment captured, dispute opened, payout completed.

required
API
Optional extensions
 

Pay By Link

Payment links for off-platform transactions and invoice-based B2B purchasing.

optional
Hosted No-code
  

Digital Invoicing

Supplier invoices with embedded payment for B2B procurement flows.

optional
API
  

Multi-Currency Pricing

Cross-border marketplace — display in buyer's currency, settle in seller's currency.

optional
API

Recurring Billing

Subscription marketplace fees — monthly platform charges to sellers.

optional
API
    
use case

APIs

Reference for every API in the stack, grouped by integration concern.

Common · All recipes
 
API REQUIRED DESCRIPTION DOCS
Payment Authorization
required
Authorize buyer transactions across CNP channels. Docs ↗
Refund & Void
required
Buyer refunds, seller void flows, dispute reversals. Docs ↗
Primary payment acceptance
 

Recommended ways for marketplace buyers to pay — minimize PCI scope while maintaining full UI control.

API REQUIRED DESCRIPTION DOCS
Unified Checkout
recommended
Hosted buyer-side checkout. Cards, wallets, 3DS. SAQ-A eligible. Docs ↗
Flex Microform v2
alternative
Custom checkout UI with server-side tokenization. Docs ↗
Marketplace-specific
 
API REQUIRED DESCRIPTION DOCS
Merchant Onboarding EC
recommended
White-label KYC and bank verification for sub-merchants. Embedded in ISV platform with zero Visa branding. Docs ↗
Tokenization Service
required
Buyer card vault for repeat purchases across the platform. Docs ↗
Fraud Management Essentials
required
Per-seller fraud screening with velocity controls. Docs ↗
Reporting & Transaction Search
required
Per-seller transaction history, settlement, and dispute management. Docs ↗
Webhooks
required
Real-time events: payment.authorized, payment.captured, dispute.opened. Docs ↗
Decision Manager
optional
ML-based fraud scoring — recommended for high-volume categories. Docs ↗
Multi-Currency Pricing
optional
Cross-border seller payouts in local currency. Docs ↗
use case

Vertical insights

What's different about Marketplaces — surface the constraints before you architect.

Europe
  • PSD2/SCA applies to marketplace buyer payments. Payment Institution (PI) licensing required in EEA for fund-flowing platforms.
  • Sub-merchant KYC must meet FATF standards — Merchant Onboarding EC covers this.
  • GDPR on buyer + seller data. SEPA Instant for seller payouts.
  • Chargeback liability flows through platform — dispute management is non-negotiable.
Asia-Pacific
  • Dominant marketplace models (Shopee, Lazada patterns) expect local payment methods per region.
  • Multi-currency settlement for cross-border sellers.
  • WeChat Pay, Alipay, GrabPay critical for buyer conversion in Southeast Asia.
  • Regulatory fragmentation — PI licensing requirements vary by country.
Latin America
  • Mercado Pago competition — local installments critical for buyer conversion.
  • Multi-currency for cross-border platforms — BRL, MXN, COP settlement.
  • PIX instant settlement attractive for seller payouts in Brazil.
  • Informal seller onboarding expectation — simplified KYC flows increase activation rate.
Middle East & Africa
  • mada acceptance required for Saudi marketplace buyers.
  • Regional compliance per country for PI licensing.
  • UAE market growing — multi-currency for expatriate buyers and sellers.
  • Mobile-first transactions — payment UX must be seamless on low-bandwidth connections.
use case

Integration path

Five steps from sandbox to scaled platform.

Sandbox

Configure platform merchant profile, test sub-merchant onboarding flow, get test credentials.

Develop

Build: UC for buyer checkout, Merchant Onboarding EC for seller activation, webhooks for event handling.

Test

Execute: buyer payment, sub-merchant activation, split payment, payout event via webhook, dispute flow.

Go Live

Launch with pilot sellers, monitor fraud rates per category, validate settlement accuracy.

Scale

Onboard seller cohorts — KYC automation via EC, per-category fraud tuning, multi-currency expansion.

use case

Other recipes you might combine

Many veterinary platforms also build for these adjacent verticals.

Retail

Each seller on the marketplace uses the retail payment stack.
 

Pet Care

Pet services marketplace - vets, groomers, trainers.
 

Hospitality

Travel marketplace connecting hotels, OTAs, and booking platforms.

Build faster with AI

Developer MCP

Use natural language to generate integration code, explore APIs, and debug your implementation. The Visa Acceptance Developer MCP connects your AI coding assistant directly to our documentation and sandbox.

Explore Developer MCP