Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems · Lesson

Leveraging Stripe Connect for Platforms

Build marketplaces or platforms that facilitate payments between multiple parties using Stripe Connect, handling payouts and fees.

Leveraging Stripe Connect for Platforms is a free Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 2 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems learning path, one of 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.

What is Stripe Connect?

Stripe Connect is a powerful solution for platforms and marketplaces. It allows you to facilitate payments between buyers and sellers, manage payouts, and handle the financial complexity of multi-party transactions.

Think of platforms like Shopify, DoorDash, or Etsy. They all use Connect (or similar solutions) to manage payments for their merchants or service providers.

Powering Your Platform

Connect simplifies many challenges for platforms:

Onboarding: Easily register sellers/service providers.
Payment Processing: Collect payments from customers on behalf of others.
Payouts: Distribute funds to your connected accounts.
Compliance: Stripe handles many regulatory and PCI DSS requirements for you.

Connect Account Types

Stripe Connect offers three main account types to fit different platform needs:

Standard: For platforms needing minimal involvement in connected accounts.
Express: For platforms that want more control over the user experience.
Custom: For platforms that need full control and customization.

Each type offers a different balance of control and responsibility.

The Simple Standard Account

Standard accounts are the simplest. Your connected accounts have their own full Stripe accounts and dashboards.

The platform directs users to Stripe to complete their onboarding. Stripe handles their compliance, support, and direct communication.

You direct payments to them and can take an application fee.

Creating a Standard Account Link

To onboard a Standard account, you create an AccountLink. This generates a URL that your user visits to complete their Stripe account setup. Here's how you'd initiate that on your backend:

import com.stripe.Stripe;
import com.stripe.model.AccountLink;
import com.stripe.param.AccountLinkCreateParams;

public class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // In a real application, set your secret key securely.
    // Stripe.apiKey = "sk_test_YOUR_SECRET_KEY";

    // Simulate creating a new account first (usually done via Account.create)
    String connectedAccountId = "acct_example_standard"; // Placeholder ID

    AccountLinkCreateParams params = AccountLinkCreateParams.builder()
      .setAccount(connectedAccountId)
      .setRefreshUrl("https://your-platform.com/reauth")
      .setReturnUrl("https://your-platform.com/return")
      .setType(AccountLinkCreateParams.Type.ACCOUNT_ONBOARDING)
      .build();

    // In a live environment, you'd call:
    // AccountLink accountLink = AccountLink.create(params);
    // System.out.println("Generated Account Link URL: " + accountLink.getUrl());

    System.out.println("Simulated Account Link Creation for ID: " + connectedAccountId);
    System.out.println("Users would be redirected to Stripe to complete setup.");
    System.out.println("A real link would look like: https://connect.stripe.com/setup/acct_... ");
  }
}

Payments to Connected Accounts

When a customer pays on your platform, you collect the payment and then transfer the appropriate amount to the connected account. Stripe Connect offers different charge types for this:

Direct Charges: The customer's payment goes directly to the connected account, and you take a fee.
Destination Charges: The payment is made to your platform account, and then a portion is transferred to the connected account.

We'll focus on Destination Charges as they give platforms more control over funds.

Processing a Destination Charge

With a destination charge, you create a PaymentIntent on your platform's account and specify the transfer_data to indicate which connected account receives the funds.

The amount in transfer_data is what the connected account receives.

import com.stripe.Stripe;
import com.stripe.model.PaymentIntent;
import com.stripe.param.PaymentIntentCreateParams;

public class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Stripe.apiKey = "sk_test_YOUR_SECRET_KEY"; // Your platform's secret key

    String customerId = "cus_example"; // A customer on your platform
    String connectedAccountId = "acct_example_standard"; // The seller's account

    PaymentIntentCreateParams params = PaymentIntentCreateParams.builder()
      .setCurrency("usd")
      .setAmount(2000L) // Total amount: $20.00
      .addPaymentMethodType("card")
      .setCustomer(customerId)
      .setTransferData(
        PaymentIntentCreateParams.TransferData.builder()
          .setDestination(connectedAccountId)
          .setAmount(1800L) // $18.00 goes to the connected account
          .build()
      )
      .build();

    // In a live environment, you'd call:
    // PaymentIntent paymentIntent = PaymentIntent.create(params);
    // System.out.println("PaymentIntent created: " + paymentIntent.getId());

    System.out.println("Simulated PaymentIntent for $20.00.");
    System.out.println("  $18.00 would be transferred to connected account: " + connectedAccountId);
    System.out.println("  Your platform retains $2.00 as an application fee.");
  }
}

Earning Your Platform Fee

In the previous example, your platform automatically retained the difference between the PaymentIntent amount ($20.00) and the transfer_data.amount ($18.00). This difference ($2.00) is your application fee.

Stripe handles the splitting of funds automatically. This simplifies your accounting and ensures your platform earns its share with each transaction.

Initiating Programmatic Payouts

While Standard accounts can manage their own payouts, you might need to initiate a payout programmatically (e.g., for specific platform rules or refunds). You can create a Transfer object to send funds from your platform to a connected account.

import com.stripe.Stripe;
import com.stripe.model.Transfer;
import com.stripe.param.TransferCreateParams;

public class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Stripe.apiKey = "sk_test_YOUR_SECRET_KEY"; // Your platform's secret key

    String connectedAccountId = "acct_example_standard"; // The recipient account

    TransferCreateParams params = TransferCreateParams.builder()
      .setAmount(5000L) // Amount to transfer: $50.00
      .setCurrency("usd")
      .setDestination(connectedAccountId)
      .build();

    // In a live environment, you'd call:
    // Transfer transfer = Transfer.create(params);
    // System.out.println("Transfer created: " + transfer.getId());

    System.out.println("Simulated Transfer for $50.00 to account: " + connectedAccountId);
    System.out.println("This moves funds from your platform to the connected account.");
  }
}

Choose the Connect Type

Which Stripe Connect account type offers the most direct control for the platform over the user's experience and onboarding flow, requiring the platform to manage more compliance?

Connect Powering Platforms

In this lesson, we explored Stripe Connect, a vital tool for building multi-party platforms and marketplaces.

You learned about the different Connect account types (Standard, Express, Custom), with a focus on Standard accounts. We covered how to onboard connected accounts using AccountLink, collect payments via destination charges, and manage your platform's application fees.

Connect handles much of the complexity, allowing you to focus on your platform's core features!

Frequently asked questions

Is the “Leveraging Stripe Connect for Platforms” lesson free?

Yes — the full text of “Leveraging Stripe Connect for Platforms” is free to read here on the web, and the Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems course includes 4 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.

What will I learn in “Leveraging Stripe Connect for Platforms”?

Build marketplaces or platforms that facilitate payments between multiple parties using Stripe Connect, handling payouts and fees. You practise Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems?

No prior experience is required. Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 2 of 4, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.

How long does the “Leveraging Stripe Connect for Platforms” lesson take?

Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.

Can I write and run code in this Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems lesson?

Yes. Every Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.

All lessons in this course

Integrating with CRM and ERP Systems
Leveraging Stripe Connect for Platforms
Exploring Third-Party Integrations & Plugins
Syncing Stripe Data to a Data Warehouse

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