---
title: "WCFM Marketplace"
description: "Pay WCFM marketplace vendors instantly and directly at checkout with Split Pay and Stripe Connect — auto-onboarding, auto-linked products, and commission rates pulled from WCFM membership tiers. Added in Split Pay 3.8.0 (PRO)."
url: "https://docs.splitpayplugin.com/features/integrations-and-compatibility/wcfm-marketplace/"
---
## Overview

WCFM (WC Frontend Manager) runs your marketplace: vendor sign-ups, vendor dashboards, your storefront, and the commission each vendor is owed. On its own, WCFM **holds each sale in your account** and pays vendors *later* — you (or a schedule) run “withdrawals” to send each vendor their share after the fact.

Split Pay changes *when* and *how* the money moves. With the WCFM integration active, each vendor’s share is sent **instantly, at the moment of the sale, straight to their own Stripe account**. You never hold their money and there are no withdrawals to process. WCFM still owns everything else — vendors, dashboards, registration, and the commission numbers it displays.

**In one line:** WCFM organizes your marketplace and tracks who is owed money; Split Pay actually moves that money — instantly and directly to each vendor at checkout — instead of you collecting it all and paying everyone out later.

## WCFM, Split Pay, and what the integration adds

Each piece does something the other can’t. The integration is the glue that makes them work as one system.

| On its own | What it does | The catch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **WCFM alone** | Runs the marketplace — vendors, dashboards, registration, and commission tracking. | Pays vendors *later* through its own withdrawal system. The money sits in your account until you pay everyone out. |
| **Split Pay alone** | Splits a Stripe payment and sends each share instantly to a vendor’s Stripe account. | Has no idea who your vendors are. You’d hand-attach the right Stripe account and percentage to every single product yourself. |
| **The integration (the glue)** | Teaches Split Pay who WCFM’s vendors are. Vendors auto-onboard to Stripe, their products auto-link to their account, and Split Pay can pull the commission rate straight from WCFM. | Requires Split Pay 3.8.0 PRO and the WCFM plugin family. That’s it. |

**What the integration adds, concretely:**

*   **Instant, direct payouts.** Each vendor’s share lands in their own Stripe account the moment a sale is paid — you never hold it, and there are no withdrawals to run.
*   **Automatic vendor onboarding.** New WCFM vendors get a **Connect with Stripe** button in their WCFM dashboard and are given the Split Pay vendor role automatically.
*   **Automatic product linking.** When a vendor saves a product, it’s linked to that vendor’s connected Stripe account for you.
*   **Commission rates from one place.** Split Pay can reuse the rates WCFM already knows — including **membership tiers** — so you set the split once, not twice.
*   **Double-payout protection.** Split Pay watches for WCFM’s own payout system being switched on at the same time, so a vendor can’t accidentally get paid twice.

**Without it** you’d hand-map every vendor and product in Split Pay (brutal on a real marketplace). **With it**, every WCFM sale auto-splits and pays the vendor instantly, with zero manual per-product setup.

## Compatibility

*   **Split Pay:** v3.8.0 or later, **PRO**. The marketplace behaviour (auto-onboarding, auto-linking, membership commissions) is a premium feature. See [Activating PRO](../../../getting-started/activating-pro/).
*   **WCFM:** the WCFM family from WC Lovers — **WC Frontend Manager** (core), plus **WCFM Marketplace** for multi-vendor. **WCFM Membership** is optional and only needed if you want commissions to follow membership tiers. Split Pay detects each module separately and shows you which are present.
*   **WooCommerce + Stripe gateway:** WooCommerce with the official [WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway](https://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce-gateway-stripe/) (or Payment Plugins for Stripe). Split Pay reads the Stripe charge the gateway creates and transfers from there. See [Quick Start](../../../getting-started/quick-start/).
*   **WordPress:** the same requirement as Split Pay (currently WordPress 6.0+).

## Setup

**Have WCFM and Stripe working first.** Install and activate WC Frontend Manager and WCFM Marketplace (and WCFM Membership if you use tiers). Connect WooCommerce to Stripe with the WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway, and make sure **Stripe Connect** is enabled on your platform account. See [Stripe Connect Prerequisites](../../../getting-started/stripe-connect-prerequisites/).

**Install and activate Split Pay (PRO).** You can install it before or after WCFM — Split Pay picks WCFM up automatically. Paste your Stripe platform API keys and sync webhooks the same way you would for any store; see [Quick Start](../../../getting-started/quick-start/). Keys need **Connect → Transfers: Write**.

**Open Split Pay → Integrations and find the Marketplace integrations section.** A **WCFM** card appears with an **Active** badge and a chip for each detected module (Frontend Manager, Marketplace, Memberships). This card is the control panel for everything below.

![The WCFM card in the Split Pay Integrations tab, showing the Active badge, module chips, status checks, and the marketplace settings](../../../images/wcfm-marketplaces-card.png)

The WCFM card under Split Pay → Integrations → Marketplace integrations. The status checks (top) report live: how many vendors are connected, how many products are linked, where commissions come from, and whether WCFM’s own payouts risk double-paying. The controls (bottom) are where you configure the integration.

**Leave the two automation toggles on (default).** **Auto-assign Split Pay vendor role** gives every new WCFM vendor the role that triggers Stripe onboarding. **Auto-link new vendor products to Stripe** attaches each product a vendor saves to that vendor’s connected account. Together they are what make the marketplace “just work” with no per-product setup.

**Choose your commission source.** Pick where each vendor’s transfer percentage comes from — your Split Pay rules, or the vendor’s WCFM membership tier. This one choice changes how several screens behave; see [Choosing where commissions come from](#commission-source) below.

**Choose how to coexist with WCFM’s own payouts.** Set **WCFM payout coexistence** so a vendor can’t be paid twice — once instantly by Split Pay and again by a WCFM withdrawal. See [Avoiding double payouts](#coexistence).

**Run a test sale.** In Stripe **test mode**, connect a test vendor (below), then buy one of their products. The vendor’s share should appear instantly as a Transfer in your Stripe Dashboard (Connect → Transfers) and in the Split Pay [Transfers](../../viewing-transfers/) log — no withdrawal needed. Repeat in live mode when you’re ready.

## Choosing where commissions come from

The **Commission source** setting on the WCFM card decides where each vendor’s transfer percentage comes from. Pick the one that matches how you already run your marketplace:

| Choose… | When you want… | How the split is decided |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Split Pay rules** (manual / global) | To set splits yourself in Split Pay — one global percentage, or per product. | Your Split Pay [global](../../how-to-transfer-payments/global-transfers/) or [per-product](../../how-to-transfer-payments/product-level-transfers/) transfer values apply, exactly as on a non-marketplace store. |
| **WCFM membership tier** | Commissions to follow the tiers you already configured in WCFM Membership, so you maintain rates in one place. | Each vendor is paid `100 − their plan’s commission %`, resolved at order time. A plan that takes a **15%** commission pays the vendor **85%**. |

Membership mode needs the **WCFM Membership** module. If a vendor has no active plan (or their plan uses a flat-fee commission rather than a percentage), Split Pay can’t derive a percentage for them and falls back to your manual / global value — and tells you so on the card (see the “Vendors with products but no resolvable membership %” status check).

## What WCFM controls when membership mode is on

When **Commission source = WCFM membership tier**, the membership tier becomes the single source of truth for every vendor product. To stop you from typing split values that silently won’t apply, Split Pay makes the override **visible on every screen** where you might otherwise set one.

### On a vendor’s product

The per-product transfer fields become **read-only**, with a note pointing back to the Marketplaces settings. The value you’d normally type here is resolved from the tier at order time instead — even a fixed-amount split is converted to the membership percentage, so a vendor can’t be over- or under-paid by a stray manual value.

**Shipping is separate.** The membership tier governs only the product commission split, so the *shipping* transfer fields stay **editable** — decide how much of each vendor’s shipping fee they keep as usual (per product, or via the global shipping transfer). Those shipping values still apply in membership mode; only the product split is taken over by the tier.

![A product's Split Pay panel in WCFM membership mode: a read-only note explains the commission comes from the membership tier, and the transfer type and amount fields are greyed out](../../../images/wcfm-product-split-locked.png)

On a vendor product, the Split Pay transfer fields are locked in membership mode. The note reads: “Commission is sourced from each vendor’s WCFM membership tier, so the per-product transfer % below is read-only and resolved automatically at order time.”

### On Global Transfer Settings

The main **Global Transfer Settings** tab shows a banner clarifying that vendor products are paid at the membership percentage, and that the global value applies only to your own (non-vendor) products and as a fallback.

![The Split Pay Global Transfer Settings tab with a notice explaining that WCFM vendor products are paid at the membership percentage and the global value applies only to non-vendor products and as a fallback](../../../images/wcfm-global-override-notice.png)

The Global Transfer Settings tab in membership mode. The notice makes clear that the global percentage is a fallback for non-vendor products, not the rate vendors are paid.

### In the Bulk Editor

The [Bulk Editor](../../bulk-editor/) shows the same warning, so a bulk change you make won’t quietly skip your marketplace vendors.

![The Split Pay Bulk Editor with a notice explaining that bulk-edited transfer values won't apply to WCFM vendor products, which are paid at the membership percentage automatically](../../../images/wcfm-bulk-editor-notice.png)

The Bulk Editor in membership mode. Bulk-edited transfer values won’t apply to marketplace vendor products — those are paid at the vendor’s membership percentage automatically.

These locks and notices only appear in **membership mode**. If your commission source is Split Pay rules, the per-product and global fields work exactly as they do on a normal store.

## Vendor onboarding (Connect with Stripe)

Because vendors are paid directly, each one needs their own Stripe account connected to your platform. With auto-assignment on, every WCFM vendor gets a **Stripe Payouts** tab in their WCFM dashboard with a **Connect with Stripe** button — no work from you.

![A WCFM vendor dashboard showing a Stripe Payouts menu item and a Connect with Stripe button in the main panel](../../../images/wcfm-vendor-connect-stripe-cta.png)

The vendor’s view: a **Stripe Payouts** item in their WCFM dashboard menu, with a **Connect with Stripe** button. The vendor completes Stripe onboarding once and is then paid automatically on every sale.

Once a vendor finishes onboarding, the same tab confirms the connection — and from then on their share of every sale is transferred instantly.

![The WCFM vendor dashboard Stripe Payouts tab after onboarding, confirming the account is connected and offering a Disconnect Stripe account button](../../../images/wcfm-vendor-dashboard-stripe-payouts.png)

After onboarding, the Stripe Payouts tab confirms “Your Stripe account is connected,” and offers a **Disconnect Stripe account** button.

### Disconnecting

A vendor can disconnect from the same **Stripe Payouts** tab. Disconnecting removes only the *local* link between the vendor and their Stripe account: Split Pay stops transferring to it and the vendor’s products are unlinked, so no payout can route to the old account until they reconnect. The Stripe account itself is not deleted — the vendor still owns it in Stripe — and reconnecting re-links their products automatically. After disconnecting, that vendor shows up again under the card’s **Vendors connected to Stripe** count so you can see who still needs to connect.

You can also onboard vendors yourself, or use the platform-agnostic `[split_pay_vendor_connect]` shortcode on any page. Both routes are covered in [Connecting Vendor Stripe Accounts](../../connecting-vendor-stripe-accounts/). The Marketplaces card’s **Vendors connected to Stripe** status check tells you, at a glance, how many of your vendors still need to connect.

## Avoiding double payouts

WCFM has its own payout system (scheduled withdrawals, the WCFM Stripe gateway, auto-disbursal). If that is left on *and* Split Pay is paying vendors instantly, a vendor could be paid twice. Split Pay detects this and surfaces it on the card as a **double-pay risk**. The **WCFM payout coexistence** setting decides what Split Pay does about it:

| Mode | What Split Pay does | Best when |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Detect & warn** (default) | Only watches and warns you on the card. Changes nothing in WCFM — the least invasive option. | You want to review the situation and adjust WCFM’s settings yourself. |
| **Reconcile** | Marks the matching WCFM commission as paid after Split Pay transfers, so WCFM’s ledger reflects that the vendor was already paid. | You want WCFM’s reports to stay accurate while Split Pay does the actual paying. |
| **Guard** | Neutralizes WCFM’s automatic payout gateways so they can’t disburse on top of Split Pay. | You want a hard guarantee that only Split Pay moves money. |

If the card shows **“WCFM payout path active — double-pay risk”** and you intend Split Pay to be the only thing paying vendors, switch coexistence to **Guard**, or turn off WCFM’s automatic withdrawals/gateway under **WCFM → Settings → Withdrawal**.

## Recommended setups for common goals

| Your goal | Commission source | Coexistence | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| “Pay vendors instantly; I set one flat split for everyone.” | Split Pay rules (global) | Guard | Set a single global transfer percentage; leave auto-assign and auto-link on. |
| “Different vendors earn different rates by membership tier.” | WCFM membership tier | Guard | Maintain rates in WCFM Membership; Split Pay follows them. Watch the “no resolvable membership %” check for vendors on a flat-fee or no plan. |
| “I’m migrating from WCFM withdrawals and want to watch first.” | Either | Detect & warn | Run both side by side in test mode, confirm Split Pay transfers look right, then move to Reconcile or Guard before going live. |
| “Keep WCFM’s commission reports accurate.” | Either | Reconcile | Split Pay pays instantly and marks the WCFM commission paid so WCFM’s ledger matches reality. |

## Limitations and known issues

*   **PRO only.** The WCFM behaviour (onboarding, linking, membership commissions, coexistence) requires Split Pay PRO. On the free version the WCFM card still detects WCFM, but the automation does not run.
*   **Membership mode needs a resolvable percentage.** If a vendor has no active membership plan, or the plan’s commission is a flat fee rather than a percentage, Split Pay can’t derive a split from it and falls back to your manual / global value. The card’s status check counts these vendors so you can fix their plans.
*   **Vendors must connect Stripe to be paid.** A sale for a vendor who hasn’t finished Stripe onboarding can’t be transferred to them. The “Vendors connected to Stripe” check shows how many still need to connect.
*   **Test and live are independent.** Connecting a vendor in test mode does not connect them in live mode. Each Stripe mode is configured end-to-end separately.
*   **Cross-border transfer rules still apply.** Stripe’s minimum transfer amount and same-country / supported-corridor rules are unchanged by the integration. See [International Transfers](../../../faqs/international-transfers/).

## Troubleshooting

*   **No WCFM card on the Integrations tab.** Confirm WC Frontend Manager and WCFM Marketplace are installed and active, and that you’re on Split Pay 3.8.0 or later.
*   **The card’s automation controls are greyed out.** The marketplace automation is PRO. Activate your license; see [Activating PRO](../../../getting-started/activating-pro/).
*   **A vendor’s products aren’t getting paid.** Check the **Vendors connected to Stripe** count — the vendor likely hasn’t finished Stripe onboarding. Use **Back-fill vendor links** on the card to link existing products after a vendor connects.
*   **Membership mode pays the wrong amount (or the global fallback).** Confirm the vendor has an active WCFM membership plan with a *percentage* commission. Use **Re-check membership %** on the card after changing a plan. Remember the vendor is paid `100 − commission %`.
*   **A vendor got paid twice.** WCFM’s own payouts are still active. Set **WCFM payout coexistence** to **Guard**, or disable WCFM’s automatic withdrawals/gateway. See [Avoiding double payouts](#coexistence).
*   **A test sale created no transfer.** Re-check that you pasted your Stripe *platform* keys (with Transfers: Write) and synced webhooks, and that the product belongs to a connected vendor. See [Quick Start](../../../getting-started/quick-start/).