Capture and Transfer Methods

Violet offers a flexible framework for controlling how payments are captured from shoppers and how funds are distributed to merchants. By configuring the capture_method and transfer_method, you can design a payment flow that aligns with your business model.

These settings can be applied at both the Channel and Merchant levels, giving you complete control over when shoppers are charged and how merchants receive payouts.

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Capture Methods

The Capture Method defines how the shopper’s payment method is charged. Available options are AUTOMATIC, EXTERNAL and CUSTOM.

• Automatic — Violet generates a pending charge on the shopper’s payment method and automatically captures it once the order is successfully submitted.
• External — The channel manages all aspects of fund capture from the shopper. Violet does not take any action with Stripe to charge the shopper in this scenario and assumes payment has been captured directly by you.
• Custom — Violet creates a pending charge on the shopper’s payment method but will only capture funds when triggered separately by the channel. This setup is ideal if you want the shopper to be charged once specific conditions have been met. For example, capture funds only after the merchant fulfills the order. (Support forCUSTOM capture will be released in a future iteration of this feature. Timing TBD.)

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Transfer Methods

The Transfer Method determines how Merchants receive funds for each order placed through Violet. Available options are AUTOMATIC, EXTERNAL and CUSTOM.

• Automatic — Violet generates and processes the transfer of funds to Merchants automatically as part of each order submission, ensuring merchants are paid in an automated fashion.
• External — The Channel fully manages Merchant transfers and payouts for orders placed through Violet. Violet does not generate any transfer, distribution or payout records for bags and orders associated with these Merchants.
• Custom — Violet creates Distribution records for Merchants but only transfers funds when prompted by the channel. While merchants can view their pending Distributions in the Merchant Dashboard, they will not receive funds until the channel initiates the transfer of funds. (APIs for CUSTOM transfer initiation will be launched on Nov 18.)