Mollie Connect for Platforms - Getting started

How to get started

In this article we will go over the most common steps from signing up to getting started with Mollie Connect for Platforms.

Step 1: Reviewing your account structure and determining the scope

The first step when you are starting with Mollie Connect would be to assess your business model and think of a possible future setup.

During this phase, there are several key factors to consider to ensure that your setup aligns with your business needs and potential benefits of using Connect:

Your business model and clients you plan to onboard to Mollie.
Payment methods you want to offer.
Adding application fees and the way you plan to monetize your payments.
Decide on the scope of permissions your application will require etc.

Step 2: Setting up & configuring an OAuth app

Regardless of the use case, it is essential to start by understanding how OAuth functions, since Mollie Connect suite relies on it to manage all connected accounts.

OAuth is an open standard for access delegation, a prerequisite to benefit from the Mollie Connect product.

To support OAuth with your app, you must implement the OAuth authorization flow which starts with a Connect with Mollie button, and gives you an access token at the end. With this token, your app will be able to communicate with the Mollie API on behalf of your customers.

When you send a customer to the authorization screen, Mollie will tell the customer what data your app has requested access to and request the customer to confirm the authorization.

We will take a closer look at OAuth and how to set it up in the Setting up OAuth article.

Step 3: Linking and onboarding customers

You then need to onboard your new customers or link existing ones using Mollie Connect.

For the new Mollie customers, Mollie will need to conduct a verification process, known as KYC, however you can decide how your customers will complete this process, for example:

Have them sign up individually and install your app later.
Create an account on their behalf and let them complete the onboarding in the Mollie Dashboard and offer a co-branded onboarding experience in your app.

Step 4: Managing customer accounts

After linking your customer accounts you need to ensure you understand how to manage them correctly and which APIs to use depending on your use case. This includes:

Operating the OAuth App.
Creating, managing and deleting profiles on behalf of your customers.
Keeping track of account statuses during the onboarding.
Managing payment methods enabled for a specific profile.
Creating and monitoring payments etc.

Step 5: Processing payments

As a platform you will enable Mollie payments and process transactions on behalf of your customers.

Depending on the model which you choose to operate with, you will need to implement a specific set of features, for example:

For the Platform model, we offer Application fees, where you platform can determine per each payment a fee which will be moved to your platform’s account balance whenever the payment succeeds.

Step 6: Setting up reporting and dashboards

You can easily track and measure platform growth data in real-time using your Partner Dashboard along with your customers who get their own Mollie dashboard to track their performance.

Mollie also offers a variety of Business Operation APIs, which allow you to provide additional reporting service:

Settlements API - reports all transactions of a customer, based on a settlement which represents a payout from Mollie balance to customer’s bank account.
Balances API - reports all transactions in a bank feed format, allowing to retrieve also open and unsettled balances, which provides more optimal reconciliation.
Invoices API - reports payment and other Mollie fees which the customer is charged with.