Stripe Connect

Most Zinc accounts pre-fund a prepaid wallet that each order draws down. Stripe Connect is a new way to pay that skips the balance entirely. Instead of drawing down a wallet, Zinc places a single shared charge on your own end-customer’s card: one charge that covers the order cost, your margin, and our fee. You keep your margin. Zinc keeps the cost (reimbursing the purchase it fronts for you) plus our standard $1 fee. Every order funds itself, so there’s nothing to top up.

How It Works

Because the retailer’s final total isn’t known until checkout, Stripe Connect places a hold when the order goes in, then captures the final amount once Zinc places the order with the retailer and releases the rest of the hold.

Connect your Stripe account

In your settings, authorize Zinc against your existing Stripe account. You keep your keys, dashboard, and payouts. Set a statement descriptor your end-customers will recognize before enabling charges, so they aren’t surprised by an unfamiliar line item.

Place the order with a payment object

Add a payment object to your standard create-order call, with mode: "connect". Zinc authorizes a hold on your end-customer’s card; if it’s declined, no order is created.

Zinc places the order

Zinc places the order with the retailer, just like any other order.

Capture the final total

Once the order is placed with the retailer, Zinc captures the actual amount and releases the rest of the hold. Your margin settles to your Stripe account; Zinc keeps the order cost (reimbursing the purchase it fronted) plus our fee.

Example: a $50.00 order with a flat $2.50 margin:

Component	Amount
Order cost (goods)	$50.00
Your margin	$2.50
Zinc fee	$1.00
Stripe fee (2.9% + $0.30)	$1.91
End-customer is charged	$55.41
→ You receive (margin)	$2.50
→ Zinc keeps (cost + fee)	$51.00

Connect orders are funded by the end-customer’s charge, so they never touch your Zinc wallet and don’t appear in your wallet balance or transaction history.

Placing a Connect Order

Add a payment object to your standard create-order call with mode: "connect". Omit it (or send mode: "wallet") for unchanged prepaid-wallet billing.

curl https://api.zinc.com/orders \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer zn_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "products": [{"url": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0EXAMPLE"}],
    "max_price": 6000,
    "shipping_address": {
      "first_name": "Jane",
      "last_name": "Smith",
      "address_line1": "123 Main St",
      "city": "Seattle",
      "state": "WA",
      "postal_code": "98101",
      "country": "US",
      "phone_number": "2065551234"
    },
    "payment": {
      "mode": "connect",
      "payment_method": "pm_1ExampleCard",
      "customer": "cus_ExampleEndCustomer",
      "margin": { "type": "flat", "value": 250 }
    }
  }'

max_price is the most the goods can cost, the same ceiling used for any order; it does not include your margin or fees. Zinc holds that ceiling plus your margin, our $1 fee, and Stripe’s fee, then charges your customer only the actual total once the order is placed.

The `payment` object

Field	Required	Description
`mode`		`"wallet"` (default) or `"connect"`.
`payment_method`	✓	Your end-customer’s saved Stripe payment-method id (`pm_…`) on your connected account.
`customer`	✓	Your end-customer’s Stripe Customer id (`cus_…`) on your connected account. The card is charged off-session, so Stripe requires the Customer it’s saved on.
`margin`	✓	Your markup: `{ "type": "flat", "value": <cents> }` or `{ "type": "percent", "value": <percent> }` (e.g. `15` = 15%).

The card must be vaulted on your connected account, not on Zinc. Zinc charges it off-session via Stripe Connect; it never sees or stores raw card details.

Order Lifecycle & Refunds

Order fails: the hold is voided and your end-customer’s funds are released; nothing is captured.
Cancelled by the retailer after capture: Zinc refunds your end-customer in full on your connected account, including the platform fee (Zinc keeps nothing on a cancelled order).
Successful order: the actual total is captured; your margin settles to your account.

Refunds are issued server-side against the original charge on your connected account and follow Stripe’s standard settlement timelines.

Next Steps

Create an Order

See the full create-order API spec, including the payment object.

Connect your account

Link your Stripe account in dashboard settings.

Getting Started

Agent Skills

Ways to Pay

Migrating from V1

FAQ

How It Works

Placing a Connect Order

The `payment` object

Order Lifecycle & Refunds

Next Steps

Create an Order

Connect your account

​How It Works

​Placing a Connect Order

​The payment object

​Order Lifecycle & Refunds

​Next Steps

Create an Order

Connect your account

How It Works

Placing a Connect Order

The `payment` object

Order Lifecycle & Refunds

Next Steps