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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.

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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 charges the final amount once the order is fulfilled and releases the remainder.
1

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.
2

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.
3

Order is fulfilled

Zinc places the order with the retailer, just like any other order.
4

Charge the final total

Once the order is fulfilled, Zinc charges 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:
ComponentAmount
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.

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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": {
      "name": "Jane Smith",
      "address_line1": "123 Main St",
      "city": "Seattle",
      "state": "WA",
      "postal_code": "98101",
      "country": "US",
      "phone": "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.

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The payment object

FieldRequiredDescription
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.

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Order Lifecycle & Refunds

  • Order fails before fulfillment: 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.

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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.