Marketplace wallet
A marketplace wallet is a stored balance a platform holds for each seller — earnings land in it and pay out on the platform's schedule, not on every sale.
A marketplace wallet is a stored balance the platform keeps for each seller. Sales credit it, and fees and refunds debit it. The seller draws down or gets paid out from what’s sitting there, rather than from each individual transaction. The wallet balance is simply what that seller is owed right now: earnings, minus deductions, minus anything held back.
What a wallet balance means
A seller’s wallet balance usually splits into three figures:
| Figure | What it is |
|---|---|
| Available | Earned, cleared and ready to pay out |
| Pending | Earned, but still inside a settlement or dispute window |
| Reserved | Held back against refunds or chargebacks, released on a rule |
If a seller asks why their balance is lower than their sales, the answer is almost always pending or reserved funds, or fees and refunds already netted off.
How a marketplace wallet works
- Every seller has a running balance. Earnings land in it as orders settle.
- Deductions come off the same balance: commission, refunds and any held reserve.
- Payouts run from the wallet on a schedule or on demand, not one transfer per sale.
Paying a seller for every order means a fee on every transfer and nowhere to net a refund. The wallet turns ten sales and two refunds into a single, clear figure.
Wallet infrastructure for a marketplace with global sellers
For global sellers, wallet infrastructure has to hold balances in several currencies, pay out over each seller’s local rail, and keep the money safeguarded while it waits. The main options:
| Provider | How balances are held | Multi-currency | Hold limit | Payouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe Connect | Connected-account balances | Yes | Manual payouts: 2 years for US accounts, 90 days in most other countries | Stripe payouts |
| Fynex | Per-seller balances, safeguarded at an FCA-authorised EMI | Yes | Your release rule | The cheapest compliant rail per seller |
| Adyen for Platforms | Balance accounts per user | Yes | Per Adyen’s terms | Adyen payouts |
| Mangopay | E-wallets per user | Yes | Per Mangopay’s terms | Bank payouts |
| Hyperwallet (PayPal) | Payee accounts | Yes | Per provider | Bank, card, PayPal and more |
The Stripe limit is from Stripe’s manual payouts docs.
Why it matters
A wallet gives sellers a live view of what they’ve earned, and gives the platform one place to net refunds, hold reserves and batch payouts. The money in a wallet isn’t the platform’s, though. It’s client money: the buyer’s until it’s released, and owed to the seller after that. That’s why it has to sit safeguarded, not in the operating account. In the UK, payment and e-money firms follow the FCA’s safeguarding rules, in force since 7 May 2026 (PS25/12).
How Fynex does it
Fynex gives each seller a stored balance, in several currencies. It credits as payments settle and pays out by rule or on schedule, with held funds kept separate when you need a reserve. See marketplace wallets and how to hold funds in a marketplace.