How to Run KYC Checks on Marketplace Sellers
Learn when to verify marketplace sellers, how KYC checks work, and how Zoneless manages risk flags, verification rules, and payouts.
Read article Open source under Apache 2.0
Open-source payouts for marketplaces
Send sellers USDC worldwide through a Stripe-compatible API that runs alongside your existing setup — with zero payout fees.
Product
Your own full payout stack
Manage your platform, onboard sellers, and give them their own payout dashboard.
Platform Dashboard
See payouts, connected accounts, and balances in one place. The layout will feel familiar if you use Stripe.
Seller Onboarding
Collect seller details with a simple guided onboarding flow similar to Stripe Connect Express.
Express Dashboard
Give sellers a place to view payouts, track earnings, and manage their account.
Developer Tools
Use webhooks, API keys, and event logs to build and debug your integration.
Try it yourself in test mode
Developers
Switch from Stripe Connect
Zoneless follows Stripe Connect's API. Swap the SDK, point it at your instance, and keep your existing payout flow.
Webhooks
Keep the event names, payload format, and signature verification you already use.
Idempotency
Pass an idempotency key on any POST request. Safe retries, no duplicates.
Events
Use familiar events such as payout.paid, transfer.created, and account.updated.
Node SDK
Install @zoneless/node and use methods that closely match Stripe's SDK.
Express Dashboard
Give sellers a ready-made onboarding flow and payout dashboard.
Same object shapes
Account, payout, and transfer responses match Stripe's structure.
migrate.ts
import Stripe from 'stripe';const client = new Stripe('sk_live_...');
import { Zoneless } from '@zoneless/node';const client = new Zoneless('sk_z_...', 'api.example.com');
// Same API you already know
const account = await client.accounts.create({type: 'express',country: 'US',email: 'seller@example.com',});await client.payouts.create({amount: 10000,currency: 'usdc',}, {zonelessAccount: account.id,});Pricing
Zoneless vs Stripe Connect Express
See how much you could save switching to Zoneless.
| Stripe Connect | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monthly account fee | $2/active account | |
| Payout fee (domestic) | 0.25% + $0.25 | |
| Payout fee (international) | $1.50 per payout | |
| Cross-border fee | +0.25% to 1.25% | |
| Currency conversion | +0.50% to 1% FX fee | |
| Payout speed | 2-7 business days | |
| Global coverage | ~47 countries | |
| Source code | Proprietary | |
| Self-hostable | No |
Calculate your savings
See how much you could save each year
Stripe Connect$38.1k/yr
Zoneless~$26/yr
You save$38.1k/yr
Case study
In production today
Zoneless powers payouts on a real marketplace with 450,000+ users.
"I run PromptBase, a marketplace for AI prompts with more than 450,000 users. At our peak, Stripe Connect cost us over $9,400 a month: $2 per active seller, plus payout fees. I built Zoneless to replace it. Our payout costs fell, sellers got paid faster, and we no longer needed a $30 minimum balance. We could also onboard sellers in more countries. I worried that sellers would find USDC confusing, but they actually prefer it."
Over 14 weeks
~$0.002avg. payout cost
1,100+payouts completed
72%of sellers chose Zoneless over Stripe
1,700+sellers onboarded
Based on 2,500 fully onboarded sellers who could choose Stripe or Zoneless payouts between December 24, 2025 and April 6, 2026.
Payouts
How your sellers get paid
Sellers connect a wallet and receive instant USDC payouts.
Seller connects wallet
Sellers connect a crypto wallet during onboarding. Guided instructions make it a 30-second job.
You send USDC
Trigger payouts through the API. Funds arrive in seconds, not days.
Seller spends or off-ramps
Spend USDC directly, or convert to local currency via exchanges like Coinbase
You're in control. Create and manage your platform wallet in Zoneless, then top it up with USDC from an exchange such as Coinbase.
Who it's for
Built for marketplaces hit hardest by legacy payout fees
Digital goods
Send small payouts without fixed fees eating into your margin.
Global seller networks
Pay sellers in more countries without building a separate banking integration for each one.
Frequent payouts
Let sellers withdraw when they want, without minimum balances or batched payments.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What marketplace operators usually ask us.
They can create one during onboarding in under a minute. Phantom is a popular choice and works like any other app. The onboarding flow walks them through each step.
Sellers transfer USDC from their wallet to an exchange like Coinbase, Kraken, or local providers, then withdraw to their bank. Most exchanges process this in 1-2 business days.
USDC is a regulated stablecoin issued by Circle, backed 1:1 by US dollar reserves. It's audited monthly and is one of the most trusted stablecoins in the industry.
Solana has 99.9%+ uptime. If the network is congested, payouts stay queued and process automatically when it recovers, typically within minutes.
You purchase USDC from any exchange (Coinbase, Kraken, etc.) and transfer it to your platform wallet. Zoneless then handles distributing payouts to your sellers. See the Funding Platform Wallet guide to learn more.
Yes. Zoneless uses a near-identical API structure to Stripe Connect. Most integrations can be migrated with minimal code changes. Zoneless currently replaces the 'Transfers' part of Stripe's 'Separate charges and transfers' model. We're happy to help with migration support. See the Migrating from Stripe guide to learn more.
Zoneless is designed with KYC in mind to keep your marketplace safe. It runs lightweight checks on every connected account and flags risk signals such as reused personal details or suspicious mismatches. For full KYC, Zoneless seamlessly connects with Didit (500 free checks per month, then $0.33 each) so sellers can verify an identity document and selfie. You choose the payout and country thresholds, review results in your dashboard, and receive webhook events when a seller needs to take action. See the Identity Verification guide to learn more.
From the blog
Learn about open-source payouts
Guides about building marketplaces and open-source payments.
How to Grow Your Marketplace to 500,000 Users
What I learned growing PromptBase from an empty marketplace into a business with 500,000 users and 300,000 listings.
Read articleRun Stripe and Zoneless Side by Side
Keep accepting card payments with Stripe while using Zoneless to pay marketplace sellers anywhere in USDC.
Read articleZoneless Cloud
Want to spend less on payouts?
We can deploy, update, and run Zoneless for you. You can also self-host the same open-source code whenever you like.
No credit card required · Apache 2.0 licensed