The platform fee
Every payment carries a small per-transaction platform fee, applied automatically and returned
on the payment as applicationFeeCents. The fee comes out of the merchant’s proceeds — it is not
a surcharge added to the customer.
Fees are configured per merchant and can be:
| Mode | How it’s computed |
|---|---|
| Percent | A percentage of the amount (in basis points — 290 = 2.90%). |
| Flat | A fixed amount in cents. |
| Hybrid | Percentage plus a flat amount (the default). |
An optional floor (minCents) and cap (maxCents) can bound the fee. The fee is always kept below
the charge amount.
Note
Example: a hybrid fee of 0.50% + 25¢ on a $100.00 charge is $0.75
(applicationFeeCents: 75). A 2.90% fee on the same charge is 290.
Payouts
Because each merchant is the merchant of record on their own connected account:
- Funds settle to their bank account on their payout schedule.
- The platform fee routes to Leffel Consulting automatically at settlement.
- The merchant sees their own transactions, payouts, and 1099-K.
You never handle or hold the merchant’s funds.
Refunds and fees
When you refund a payment, the platform fee is refunded proportionally by default.
Set refundApplicationFee: false to retain it.
Disputes
With merchant-of-record (Standard) accounts, the merchant bears chargebacks and any dispute fees.
You’ll receive charge.dispute.created and charge.dispute.closed callbacks so
your systems can track them.