> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.yabetoopay.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Yabetoo Connect

> Collect payments on behalf of your vendors, take your commission and pay them out, with a single integration.

Yabetoo Connect lets a **marketplace** collect payments on behalf of the **vendors** it has
connected, take its commission along the way, and pay those vendors out to their payout
destination.

You keep a single integration, a single API key and a single cash flow. Yabetoo keeps the
ledger for each vendor.

<Info>
  **Environments.** Connect runs on the same hosts as the rest of the Yabetoo API:
  `https://pay.sandbox.yabetoopay.com` with an `sk_test_` key, and
  `https://pay.api.yabetoopay.com` with an `sk_live_` key. Both serve the same endpoints.
</Info>

## The three actors

Connect brings three parties together. The vocabulary is fixed throughout this documentation
and in the API. Confusing it is the number one source of integration errors.

| Actor               | Who                         | In the API                                          |
| ------------------- | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Yabetoo**         | the payment provider        | n/a                                                 |
| **The marketplace** | you, Yabetoo's customer     | the *controller*: your `sk_` key signs the requests |
| **The vendor**      | the third party you connect | the *connected account*, identified by an `acct_…`  |

## How the money moves

Money **always** lands on Yabetoo's operator identity, then Connect splits it in the ledger.
There is no routing to a third-party operator account: the split is a book entry, so it is
atomic.

<Steps>
  <Step title="You create a vendor">
    One API call creates their account, their organization and their wallet.
    See [Create a connected account](/en/connect/accounts/create).
  </Step>

  <Step title="The vendor passes verification">
    You send them an onboarding link hosted by Yabetoo. There they submit their identity
    documents and their payout destination.
    See [Onboarding and verification](/en/connect/accounts/onboarding).
  </Step>

  <Step title="You collect">
    Either you name the vendor at capture time and the split happens immediately
    ([direct mode](/en/connect/payments/charges)), or you collect on your own account and
    distribute later ([deferred mode](/en/connect/payments/allocations)).
  </Step>

  <Step title="The funds mature">
    Every vendor credit lands as a **pending balance** and becomes available after a
    configurable delay. See [Balances and availability](/en/connect/payouts).
  </Step>

  <Step title="You pay the vendor">
    You order the withdrawal of their available balance to their payout destination, on
    demand or on an automatic schedule.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## The two commission modes

Connect supports two economic setups, chosen **once and for all** when you activate your
account. This is the `fee_payer` setting, and it decides **who bears the Yabetoo fees**.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Marketplace mode" icon="store" href="/en/connect/pricing">
    `fee_payer = controller`

    You take a commission on the sale, and the Yabetoo fees come **out of your commission**.
    The vendor sees a single deduction: yours.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Platform mode" icon="layer-group" href="/en/connect/pricing">
    `fee_payer = account`

    The vendor is billed by Yabetoo **like an ordinary merchant**, and your commission is
    added on top. You keep your commission in full.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Warning>
  The same rate does not earn the same amount in both modes. A controller declaring 5% keeps
  **50** on a 10,000 XAF sale in marketplace mode, and **500** in platform mode.
  Read [Commissions and pricing](/en/connect/pricing) before choosing.
</Warning>

## What Connect does, and does not do

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="A vendor belongs to exactly one marketplace">
    The control link is set at creation and it is **immutable**. There is no endpoint to
    unlink a vendor, nor to transfer them to another marketplace. Multi-attachment is not
    supported.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A vendor cannot itself control other vendors">
    Control depth is limited to 1. A connected account cannot become a marketplace.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="No wallet can go negative">
    A vendor's wallet cannot be debited after the fact. Yabetoo therefore never advances
    funds: a refund not covered by the available balances is **refused**, it does not create
    a debt. See [Refunds](/en/connect/refunds).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="One currency per relationship">
    A vendor is created in the currency of its marketplace. Multi-currency is not supported
    in v1: a different currency is refused at creation.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The vendor has no dashboard">
    By default a connected account has no login, no API key and no dashboard. They submit
    their documents through the onboarding link, and you are the one who orders their
    withdrawals.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next step

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/en/connect/quickstart">
    A full walkthrough, from activation to the first payout.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Activate Connect" icon="toggle-on" href="/en/connect/activate">
    Choose your mode and turn Connect on for your account.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>