AfroConnect Financial and Vendor Payout Policy

Customers pay for product purchases through Stripe Checkout. A customer purchasing from multiple vendors may make one combined payment, while AfroConnect records each vendor's portion separately.

Customer payments are collected through AfroConnect's Stripe account. Payment confirmation is required before an order is treated as paid; creating a checkout session alone does not confirm payment.

AfroConnect charges product vendors a commission of 8% of the product subtotal. The commission is deducted from the vendor's earnings and is not added as a separate commission charge to the customer.

Shipping collected from the customer is not included in the commission calculation. Platform-owned stores are exempt from the 8% vendor commission.

The standard payout calculation, excluding tax, is:

• Vendor payout = product subtotal + shipping collected − platform commission
• Platform commission = product subtotal × 8%

Example

The shipping amount forms part of the calculated vendor payout. The payout is not a statement of the vendor's profit or reimbursement of every cost incurred in fulfilling the order.

Vendor funds remain held until delivery is confirmed through the supported delivery-confirmation process. A five-day post-delivery hold then applies before the order becomes eligible for payout.

An open dispute prevents release of the affected vendor portion while the matter is reviewed. Expiry of the five-day hold is not a promise that refunds, payment disputes or chargebacks can no longer occur.

In a multi-vendor order, each vendor's portion is assessed separately according to its delivery and dispute status.

AfroConnect's daily payout sweep is scheduled for 3 a.m. Toronto time. Eligible vendor portions are processed through the applicable settlement method.

Stripe Connect

For vendors with an active, payout-enabled Stripe Connect account, AfroConnect transfers the eligible amount to that connected account. Stripe subsequently pays the funds to the vendor's bank according to the applicable account payout schedule.

A completed transfer to a connected Stripe account does not mean the funds have already arrived in the vendor's bank. The five-day hold and the daily sweep therefore do not establish a guaranteed bank-deposit date.

Manual settlement

For vendors using manual settlement, an eligible payout enters AfroConnect's administrative payment queue. An administrator completes payment by Interac or cheque and records the settlement.

Placement in the manual queue does not mean payment has been sent. No fixed manual-settlement completion deadline is established in this draft.

Platform-owned stores

Sales by platform-owned stores are settled internally. No vendor commission or external vendor transfer applies, and the settlement is recorded for accounting purposes.

Where an order is disputed before payout, the affected funds remain held pending review. The outcome may affect the amount ultimately released.

Customer tax amounts must be identified separately from product revenue and shipping in the transaction records. The payout example in this policy excludes tax and does not establish who is responsible for collecting, receiving or remitting it.

The 8% commission should not be described as pure platform profit. AfroConnect may incur processing and operating costs from the revenue it retains.

Service customers pay service providers directly, outside AfroConnect's product-checkout and vendor-payout process. AfroConnect does not charge a commission on service bookings.

The five-day product payout hold and daily product payout sweep do not apply to these direct service payments. Separate service-profile membership charges, where applicable, are not booking commissions.

Vendors should contact AfroConnect support about payout discrepancies, missing settlements or payment-status questions. Include the relevant order number and vendor business name so the transaction can be identified.

Do not send payment-card information, passwords or private banking credentials in a support message.

This section is for AfroConnect management and should be removed from the final customer-facing version after the policy is completed and approved.

• Tax responsibility: Confirm who collects, receives and remits transaction taxes and whether the 8% fee is tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive where relevant.
• Processing fees: Confirm whether the 8% covers all applicable processing costs or whether any additional deductions apply. Do not quote an unverified Stripe rate or describe card processing as a fee "per transfer."
• Shipping costs: Confirm whether label purchases or other fulfilment costs are separately charged and how they appear in vendor statements.
• Refunds and chargebacks: Establish treatment before and after payout, commission reversals, shipping refunds, dispute fees and any recovery mechanism.
• Hold calculation: Confirm whether five days means 120 elapsed hours or another defined calendar calculation, which timestamp starts the hold, and how the scheduled sweep treats the boundary.
• Settlement exceptions: Define failed transfers, unavailable Connect accounts, insufficient platform balance and manual-payment handling.
• Manual turnaround: Decide whether to offer a target or commitment for Interac/cheque processing.
• Records and contacts: Confirm the actual payout-status labels, available vendor statements and support destination.
• Terms alignment: Reconcile this policy with the Vendor Terms, Refund Policy and actual production payout logic. Do not imply a regulated escrow or trust arrangement without confirming that structure.
• Approval and publication: Obtain accounting and legal review, set the effective date and approve publication. Do not change live billing or payout behaviour merely by publishing this draft.