We design and build two-sided marketplace platforms — from vendor onboarding and commission engines to escrow payments and trust systems. B2B procurement, service marketplaces, and consumer platforms.
Marketplace Platform Capabilities — Stripe Connect, Two-Sided Marketplace, Commission Engine, Escrow, Trust and Safety
Building a marketplace is fundamentally different from building a standard SaaS product. You are not serving one type of user — you are simultaneously building for buyers who want choice and trust, sellers who want visibility and reliable payouts, and operators who need controls, analytics, and revenue management. Each side has different onboarding, different permission requirements, and different success metrics.
The technical complexity matches that ambiguity. Marketplace payments require split payment APIs, escrow logic, commission calculation, and payout scheduling across multiple currencies and jurisdictions. Trust systems require identity verification, reputation modelling, review integrity protection, and dispute resolution workflows. Search and discovery requires relevance ranking tuned to marketplace-specific signals rather than generic text relevance.
We have built marketplace platforms in professional services, logistics, healthcare, B2B procurement, and financial services. That experience means we know where the hard problems are before we start — and we have working solutions for them rather than building from first principles on your budget.
Single seller architecture — cannot support multi-vendor transactions
Multi-vendor transaction engine with commission, escrow, and payout logic built in
No native split payment or payout scheduling — payment flows are manual
Stripe Connect or Adyen split payment with scheduled, automated vendor payouts
Reviews and ratings retrofitted — no integrity controls or ranking signals
Review and rating system with verified-purchase validation and ranking integration
Onboarding identical for buyers and sellers — no role-specific flows
Dual onboarding: buyer friction-minimised, seller compliance-enforced from sign-up
Trust and safety bolted on — fraud caught after the fact
Velocity checks, risk scoring, and dispute resolution workflow included from launch
The cost of retrofitting marketplace-specific architecture onto a generic platform is consistently higher than building correctly from the start. Escrow logic, trust systems, and split payments affect data models, payment flows, and operational processes — they cannot be added superficially.
Seven specialist service lines, each built for a specific marketplace challenge.
We design the data model, transaction flows, and platform architecture before a line of code is written. Commission structures, escrow logic, role-based access, and search architecture are defined upfront so the platform scales without costly refactoring.
We build role-differentiated onboarding flows: streamlined registration for buyers and compliance-enforced verification for sellers, including ID verification, document collection, and payment account setup via Stripe Connect or equivalent.
We build product and service listing systems with media management, category taxonomy, attribute filtering, and full-text search powered by Elasticsearch or Algolia. Listing quality scoring and completeness prompts keep catalogue quality high at scale.
We implement commission calculation engines supporting flat, percentage, tiered, and category-specific fee structures. Vendor payouts are scheduled automatically via Stripe Connect, with currency conversion, tax withholding, and payout reversal for disputed transactions.
We implement secure payment flows with escrow hold, conditional release on delivery or milestone completion, and multi-currency support. KYC and AML compliance is integrated via Onfido or Sumsub for regulated marketplace categories.
We build review and rating systems with verified-purchase validation, response management, and reputation scoring that feeds into search ranking. Fraud detection uses velocity checks, device fingerprinting, and transaction pattern monitoring.
We build operator dashboards covering GMV, take rate, supply/demand imbalance by category, seller performance, and buyer cohort analytics. Seller-facing analytics show listing performance, conversion, and payout history.
A structured six-stage process from free scoping call to live launch and growth optimisation.
We map your two-sided market, define the value proposition for each side, identify the chicken-and-egg challenge, and scope the MVP feature set. We also assess regulatory requirements — KYC, escrow, and payment licensing — for your target markets.
We design the platform data model, transaction flow architecture, and payment integration plan. Commission logic, escrow flows, role-based permissions, and search architecture are documented before implementation begins.
We build the foundational marketplace: user registration, listing management, search and discovery, and the payment flow. Stripe Connect or equivalent is integrated, with commission calculation and basic payout scheduling operational.
We add review and rating systems, identity verification integration, dispute resolution workflow, and seller analytics. Search ranking is tuned with marketplace-specific signals and recommendation logic is implemented.
We load test the payment and escrow flows, penetration test the authentication and authorisation layers, and run end-to-end tests across the buyer and seller journeys. We prepare runbooks for payment exceptions, disputed transactions, and account suspension.
We support your go-live, monitor payment success rates and onboarding conversion, and iterate on the supply and demand balance based on early data. We help you instrument the metrics that matter for marketplace health: GMV, take rate, liquidity, and repeat transaction rate.
We map your two-sided market, define the value proposition for each side, identify the chicken-and-egg challenge, and scope the MVP feature set. We also assess regulatory requirements — KYC, escrow, and payment licensing — for your target markets.
We design the platform data model, transaction flow architecture, and payment integration plan. Commission logic, escrow flows, role-based permissions, and search architecture are documented before implementation begins.
We build the foundational marketplace: user registration, listing management, search and discovery, and the payment flow. Stripe Connect or equivalent is integrated, with commission calculation and basic payout scheduling operational.
We add review and rating systems, identity verification integration, dispute resolution workflow, and seller analytics. Search ranking is tuned with marketplace-specific signals and recommendation logic is implemented.
We load test the payment and escrow flows, penetration test the authentication and authorisation layers, and run end-to-end tests across the buyer and seller journeys. We prepare runbooks for payment exceptions, disputed transactions, and account suspension.
We support your go-live, monitor payment success rates and onboarding conversion, and iterate on the supply and demand balance based on early data. We help you instrument the metrics that matter for marketplace health: GMV, take rate, liquidity, and repeat transaction rate.
Select a sector to see how we design and build marketplace platforms that work for buyers, sellers, and operators.
Financial services marketplaces require compliant KYC/AML flows, regulated money movement between participants, and robust fraud detection — all while maintaining the trust of both buyers and providers.
Financial services marketplaces require compliant KYC/AML flows, regulated money movement between participants, and robust fraud detection — all while maintaining the trust of both buyers and providers.
Professional services marketplaces must handle complex matching logic, credential verification, project scoping, milestone payments, and review systems that build trust between clients and providers.
Healthcare marketplaces connect patients with providers, insurers, and wellness services, requiring HIPAA compliance, credential verification, and secure payment handling.
Logistics marketplaces connect shippers, carriers, and brokers in a two-sided network requiring real-time load matching, dynamic pricing, and transparent tracking.
B2B procurement marketplaces streamline supplier discovery, RFQ, purchase orders, and invoice management, replacing fragmented email workflows with a single governed platform.
Real estate marketplaces handle high-value transactions requiring verified listings, secure document management, regulated payment flows, and deep integrations with property data sources.
Perimattic's work resulted in stable production systems. The team was helpful, easily accessible, and communicative through email. Their professionalism was impressive.
Quality
4.5
Schedule
5.0
Cost
5.0
Willing to Refer
4.5
DevOps Managed Services · Oct 2023 – Aug 2024
24/7 monitoring and support for production environments plus Linux server administration for a leasing automation company.
The new architecture is scalable and highly efficient, saving a lot of money in fees. Perimattic provides high-quality IT consulting and cloud development work promptly and at great value. The team remains involved from the planning stage to providing support, showing diligence and proactiveness.
Quality
5.0
Schedule
5.0
Cost
4.5
Willing to Refer
5.0
AWS Migration (Legacy → Microservices) · Nov 2018 – Ongoing
Transitioned a travel systems company's legacy server system to an AWS-based microservices architecture with ongoing maintenance.
Four structural advantages that separate production-grade marketplace engineering from MVP-quality builds.
We have built marketplace platforms across professional services, logistics, healthcare, and B2B procurement. We understand the supply-demand bootstrapping challenge, the trust asymmetry between buyers and sellers, and the commission model trade-offs before we start designing.
Split payments, escrow, multi-currency, tax withholding, and payout scheduling are built into our marketplace architecture from the start. We do not bolt payment complexity on after launch — it is designed in from the first data model.
Identity verification, velocity checks, review integrity controls, and dispute resolution are standard components of every marketplace we deliver. Trust is a product requirement, not an operational afterthought, and we build it into the platform before the first transaction.
Our marketplace architectures are designed to handle the load of a successful marketplace, not just an MVP. Database partitioning, search indexing, payment queue design, and CDN configuration are production-grade from day one.
“The commission engine, escrow logic, and trust system are not after-thoughts on the platforms we build — they are the first architectural decisions we make and the last things we test before launch.”
A marketplace platform is a software system that connects two or more distinct user groups — typically buyers and sellers, or clients and service providers — facilitating transactions, communications, and trust between them. Unlike a standard e-commerce store where one business sells to many customers, a marketplace enables many sellers or providers to transact with many buyers, with the platform operator taking a commission or fee for facilitating the connection. Examples include Airbnb, Upwork, Amazon Marketplace, and Deliveroo.
A two-sided marketplace connects two user groups — buyers and sellers, or clients and providers. A three-sided marketplace adds a third participant: for example, a gig economy platform that connects workers, customers, and businesses who need staffing. Three-sided marketplaces are architecturally more complex because each side has different onboarding requirements, permission structures, and transaction relationships. We have built platforms covering both models.
We implement commission engines that calculate the platform's take from each transaction at the point of payment capture. Payouts to sellers or providers are then scheduled — daily, weekly, or on milestone completion — using a payment split or payout API such as Stripe Connect. We handle currency conversion for multi-currency marketplaces, tax withholding where required, and payout reversals in the event of disputes. The commission model — flat rate, percentage, tiered, or subscription — is configured at the platform level and can vary by category or seller tier.
Escrow holds a buyer's payment in a protected state until a defined condition is met — delivery, project milestone, or acceptance. Escrow is most important in high-value or high-trust-risk transactions: project-based freelance work, property transactions, equipment purchases, and any marketplace where the seller must deliver before the buyer can verify. We implement escrow using Stripe's payment intents with delayed capture, or dedicated escrow APIs depending on regulatory requirements in the markets you serve.
Trust and safety on a marketplace involves identity verification during onboarding, behavioural monitoring for fraud patterns, review and rating systems that surface reputation over time, dispute resolution workflows, and content moderation for listings and communications. We implement risk scoring at the account level, velocity checks on payments, and automated flagging for suspicious transaction patterns. For regulated markets we integrate with third-party KYC and AML providers such as Onfido or Sumsub.
Effective marketplace search requires relevance ranking, faceted filtering, geographic search, and personalised recommendations. We implement full-text and semantic search using Elasticsearch or Algolia, integrate seller reputation signals into ranking algorithms, and build recommendation engines that surface relevant listings based on buyer behaviour. For service marketplaces we build matching algorithms that score provider-client fit across skills, location, availability, and budget.
We work with Stripe Connect as the primary marketplace payment infrastructure — it handles split payments, payout scheduling, and tax reporting across many geographies. For marketplaces requiring alternative payment methods, multi-currency support, or specific regional coverage we integrate Adyen, Braintree, Checkout.com, or PayPal Payouts. We select the payment stack based on your target markets, transaction volume projections, and regulatory requirements.
A focused marketplace MVP — core listing, matching, and payment flows — typically takes eight to fourteen weeks. A full-featured marketplace with advanced search, trust systems, dispute resolution, analytics, and mobile applications takes sixteen to thirty weeks depending on complexity. We start every engagement with a free scoping session to define what MVP means for your market and produce a realistic delivery timeline.
A marketplace MVP starts from around USD 40,000. A full-featured marketplace platform typically ranges from USD 80,000 to USD 200,000 depending on the complexity of the matching logic, payment flows, trust systems, and integrations required. We scope every project before quoting so there are no surprises, and we are transparent about what is included and excluded at each stage.
Yes. We offer a discovery and validation phase before any development begins. We help you define the two-sided value proposition, identify the chicken-and-egg problem and how to solve it, map the unit economics, and design a lean MVP that tests your core assumptions with real users. This phase typically takes two to three weeks and produces a product brief, architecture overview, and MVP feature list that becomes the foundation for the build phase.
Tell us about your two-sided market and we will show you the exact architecture, payment model, and trust system your platform needs to generate liquidity and grow GMV from day one.