Stripe Connect

Connect is what lets a platform like Zillo serve thousands of independent merchants without ever touching their money. Each merchant is onboarded to their own Stripe account, payments settle directly to them, and the platform's fee is collected automatically on top of each charge.

Zillo uses Connect Express accounts with destination charges. In plain terms: the customer pays once, the funds settle to the merchant's connected account, and Zillo's application fee is taken in the same transaction. The merchant stays the merchant of record and is paid out by Stripe on the normal schedule.

This matters for trust and for compliance. Card data and payout handling are managed by Stripe — a regulated, PCI-compliant payments company that also powers the checkout of many of the world's largest stores — rather than by Zillo. Onboarding includes the identity and bank-verification steps Stripe requires.

For a merchant, the visible result is simple: connect a Stripe account in a couple of clicks, and money from your Zillo store lands in your bank automatically. The Connect plumbing that makes that safe is invisible.