> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wallee.gitbook.io/documentation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wallee.gitbook.io/documentation/wallee-join/partner-models.md).

# Partner Models

wallee join supports two operating models. A partner can use one of them or both in parallel — the right choice depends on how deeply payments are embedded in your product and who owns the commercial relationship with the merchant.

## join account (Affiliate model)

You refer merchants to wallee. Each referred merchant signs up for their **own wallee account**, selects (or is assigned) a subscription product and pays wallee directly — including the subscription and payment commission costs.

* Referral via affiliate onboarding links or the join portal
* Merchant has a direct billing relationship with wallee
* You earn an affiliate reward: one-off bounty, revenue share or recurring fee
* Minimal integration effort — no payment risk on your side

**Ideal for:** agencies, consultants, resellers, influencers and software vendors that want to refer without operating payments.

## join platform (ISV model)

You embed wallee into your own platform. Merchants are created as **sub-accounts linked to your partner account** and stay within your product and brand. A merchant sub-account has the same features as your parent account.

* Integration via co-branded portal, low-code flows or fully via API
* Consolidated billing: subscription and fees are billed to you as the platform
* You define your own sell pricing towards merchants (within the limits agreed with wallee) and monetise the margin
* Full overview of all merchants in your join dashboard

**Ideal for:** SaaS platforms, POS/ERP/booking software vendors and ISVs that want payments as a native part of their product.

## Comparison

<table data-search="false"><thead><tr><th></th><th>join account (Affiliate)</th><th>join platform (ISV)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Merchant account</td><td>Own wallee account</td><td>Sub-account under the partner</td></tr><tr><td>Billing</td><td>Merchant pays wallee directly</td><td>Consolidated — billed to the partner</td></tr><tr><td>Pricing towards merchant</td><td>wallee pricing (product-based)</td><td>Partner-defined sell rates</td></tr><tr><td>Partner earnings</td><td>Commission / revenue share</td><td>Margin between buy and sell rate</td></tr><tr><td>Branding</td><td>wallee-branded onboarding</td><td>Co-branded / white-label experience</td></tr><tr><td>Integration effort</td><td>Low (links or portal)</td><td>Medium — portal, low-code or API</td></tr><tr><td>Typical partners</td><td>Agencies, resellers, affiliates</td><td>SaaS, ISVs, vertical platforms</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Pricing concepts

Commercial conditions are agreed individually with wallee. Technically, the model is based on two pricing profiles, always seen from the partner's perspective:

* **Buy rate** — the pricing profile used to compute the fees that apply to *you*, the partner. This is the price at which you buy wallee's services.
* **Sell rate** — the pricing profile used to compute the fees that apply to *your merchants*. This is the price at which you sell the service on. Depending on your configuration, sell pricing is **predefined**, restricted to **positive margins only**, or fully **flexible**.
* **Default pricing profile** — one sell-rate profile is set as default and used for onboarding links.

Normally the buy rate is lower than the sell rate — the difference is your margin on every transaction. How this margin flows through transactions and settlements is explained in Settlement & Payouts.

Contact your wallee partner manager for your individual conditions.