1. General
By using Zona Shoppers’ third-party Payment Processors, you agree that you are bonded with the payment processor service offered by us and make the designated payment percentage or stipend established by the payment processor.
If you understand that the Payment Policy is not necessarily good for your business or implies so much inconvenience, we suggest avoiding listing products or services on Zona Shoppers.
These Payment Policies represent a legally binding between you as the vendor and Zona Shoppers. Also, please acknowledge that the payment processor is the entity that withholds payment while the transactions are completed.
2. General Acknowledgments
You agree to have Zona Shoppers and its Payment Processor Affiliates process all payments and settlements (also known as “payments,” “payment services,” “your payment,” and “third parties”).
2a. The Process
Your listed products on Zona Shoppers are sold and bought by customers who pay through one of the following payment processors:
- PayPal or Stripe
- Credit Card (Visa, Master Card, American Express, or Discovery)
- Zona Shoppers Gift Cards (Gift Certificates & Promotional Certificates)
- Zona Shoppers Coupons for Discounts
Once the customer finishes the transaction, you will receive a payment confirmation. However, that payment confirmation is subject to future investigation by the payment processor. Therefore, verifying if the payment is valid to the person who performed the shopping is necessary. Also, it is essential to confirm if the funds are available.
If, for any reason, the transaction cannot be completed, we will notify you. Furthermore, if the transaction is fraudulent, the payment processor can collect a maximum charge of USD 20.00- 50.00 upon finishing the investigation. So, if you believe your transaction is suspicious, discard the sale.
You can see all your transactions on your account’s vendor dashboard.
Zona Shoppers reserves the right to modify the payment processors without previous notice to enhance the services offered.
All payments are processed as soon as the payment processor disbursed the funds, keeping a percentage as a reserve. Therefore, if you are a regular seller with enough funds to cover previous sales, your funds can be disbursed faster.
If we consider a discrepancy or a risk associated with the type of sale, product, or charges, we will withhold the funds until an appropriate investigation is conducted.
3. Commission Charge
All memberships have a commission of 4% regardless of the level or category. This makes Zona Shoppers the e-commerce with one of the lowest commission percentages in the market. Also, all our memberships include paid marketing, making that commission percentage even lower.
4. Third-Party Payment Services Providers
Our payment processors, collectively known as “Third-party Payment Processors,” are responsible for managing the collection and validation of payments and the disbursement of proceeds and dispute settlements. They also perform risk and compliance management. In some instances, we may request verification of identity. For the third party to manage all mentioned processes, we at Zona Shoppers need to share information and data to satisfy the methods.
The third-party payment processor is responsible for services’ performance under this policy. You, known as “the vendor,” waive your professional secrecy and legal privileges.
5. Acceptance of Payment Processors
To use our payment services, you must accept the terms and all times related to vendors found in Vendor Terms & Policies.
Under this Payment Policy, you agree to follow all the rules and regulations stated by third parties: Stripe, credit and debit cards,& Zona Shoppers Gift Cards, or others.
6. Shipping
After confirmation that the payment went through, you proceed with the merchandise’s shipping.
The shipment process must follow the offer made at the time of sale.
7. Protection Management Measures
7a. Disputes and Protection
All customers have the right to request a refund. If you don’t have a reserve, it sometimes starts a disbursement reversal, asking the payment processor to return it. This action can lead to charges from the payment processor. Another type of request for a refund is the chargeback. A chargeback is a reverse payment due to a fraudulent transaction. Both actions can incur penalties or extra fees from the payment processor.
On some occasions, disputes merge from these actions. These actions are presented to Zona Shoppers to intercept or act as arbitrage and investigate the issue. Under these circumstances, the vendor must provide information promptly to solve the dispute. If the information is not delivered on time, the conflict will be forfeited and passed to the payment processor involved in the process. It is up to the vendor to prove any discrepancy in the dispute. This discrepancy is presented to the payment processor to analyze.
Under the Payment Policy herein, you authorize Zona Shoppers to relinquish to the payment processor the sum in dispute if the information is not clear, presented on time, and cannot prove an unjustified dispute. The total payment must include the purchase total plus any costs or fees associated with the reversal of funds or chargeback.
Even though we may participate as arbitrage, you, the vendor, must protect us from any legal action from any part. You are responsible for the legal fees and arbitrage fees assessment from third parties or any other entity. Under these terms, you agree to take full responsibility for charges, fees, and penalties due to a dispute. You also agree to abide by any charges brought against Zona Shoppers, either legally or economically, including but not limited to legal representation.
7b. Penalties and Fees
Ensure you read all the policies and comply with Zona Shoppers and payment processors’ rules and regulations. The payment processor may apply additional fees or penalties due to the listing you are selling (prohibited products) or the type of transaction (interchange fees, credit cards, or debit card processing fees).
Those fees are subtracted from the vendor’s proceeds. You authorize Zona Shoppers to charge any fee from future profits if the costs are charged after receiving a disbursement. The vendor is responsible for damages, fees, or penalties imposed on Zona Shoppers due to a vendor’s action and agrees to reimbursement. The vendor must agree with the payment processor’s outcomes if their actions or sales led to it, either by acknowledgment or not.
7c. Prohibited and Control Products Fines
If you list a product from the Prohibited List or decide to sell without the proper documentation, consider that we may withhold your earnings from those sales until further notice.
Before you list any product, make sure it does not belong to the Prohibited and Control Products list. If such products’ sales result in a penalty, fine, or fee from any of our payment processors, the vendor is responsible for reimbursing the money to process the fines. We will deduct the disputed amount from your sales balance. Zona Shoppers will place the left amount on hold until all investigations end.
You agree to take full responsibility for any damage or loss due to the sale of a prohibited or controlled product.
Under this term of use, you agree to pay any indemnity, legal fees, medical fees, or any other legal penalty caused by your product. You also certify taking full responsibility and protecting Zona Shoppers from legal action.
You agree to fulfill any legal payment, compensation, or other action against Zona Shoppers due to your direct or indirect actions. You further agree that we, Zona Shoppers, can pursue any other applicable remedies against you.
7d. Funds on Hold
We reserve the right to place funds on hold if there is a discrepancy in any transaction. Under the Payment Policy, you agree to these actions. In addition, Zona Shoppers can communicate with the payment processor to hold any disbursement due to the risk associated with your account.
We may hold funds based on fraudulent credit card activities or any other action that led Zona Shoppers to believe the charges are inappropriate or the payment method used is not legal.
We place on hold or cancel your settlements from your proceeds if we detect a breach in the payment transaction or a violation of the products on sale, such as prohibited and controlled products.
The hold of funds for closing your account with Zona Shoppers will last until the last item sold on your store reach its return, refund, or exchange due date (30 days or the maximum days you offered on your store).
If the funds have been held due to prohibited products or control products without the proper documentation, we can request the customer to return the product. The vendor agrees that Zona Shoppers refund the customer the total charges and shipping expenses. If the buyer refuses to resend the product, the funds will be held for 180 to 350 days or until we consider it appropriate for the challenging time to pass.
The vendor must agree that selling prohibited or controlled products have a more extended period of disbursement because those products should have been kept from Zona Shoppers of their peculiarity.
These actions are part of the Payment Policy. Therefore, they can only be dismissed by a court of law in which you, as the vendor, agree to manage all expenses, legal or any other, for Zona Shoppers.
Before placing an account on hold or cancellation, we always consider the vendor’s history, sales rates, and many other performances. We notify the vendor through internal communication (dashboard) or email.
If we cannot reach the person (vendor) by any prior electronic communication, we wait for 30 days to respond.
If 30 days have passed, and the vendor has not reacted, the account is placed in silence.
Remember that any hold by a payment processor may cause delays in future disbursements. You agree that Zona Shoppers is not responsible for delays in disbursements due to actions against policies, any payment processor actions, or events out of Zona Shoppers’ control.
7e. Reserve of Funds
Zona Shoppers reserves the right to secure funds for future refunds. These reserve funds are frequently in vendors less than six months within Zona Shoppers. This action minimizes the risk and ensures your obligations on your sales.
This reserve is exclusively a guarantee for customers’ requests for refunds. This reserve is not considered a hold, late disbursement, or payment processor hold. This is a regulation under the Payment Policy as a means of security.
Reference Indicators Zona Shoppers takes into Consideration canceling the Reserve of Funds.
Time selling on Zona Shoppers; over 16 months will have more flexibility
Percentage of sales per month
History of returns
History of account’s holds
History of Prohibited and Control Products (if any)
History of compliment with policies after notice
Level on Quality Performances Evaluation
8. Liability
Zona Shoppers, we know the importance of security and fairness processes. We take actions and precautions most responsibly according to our policies and regulations. We do not have control over the decisions of third-parties payment processors. They have their own sets of rules, regulations, and policies. We will not be liable for their actions regarding payments or precautions done to any payable account. This includes, but is not limited to, delays in disbursements, holds on payments, fees on refunds, fees on chargebacks, or any other action the payment processor pertains to. We are not liable for unforeseeable circumstances or circumstances out of our reach or control. We are not responsible for misleading or misinterpreting information by any payment processor. Payment processors are any third parties used on Zona Shoppers to process payments, including but not limited to credit cards & PayPal. These payment processors are a resource used by Zona Shoppers to process payments for customers and disbursements for vendors. Zona Shoppers is not the legal liaison of any third-parties payment processors.
Off-Site Payments
Off-Site (out of Zona Shoppers website) payment services such as pay-on delivery, cash, money orders, personal checks, wire transfer, or any other possible off-Site payment are not protected under the Customer Protection Policy. Disputes due to off-Site payments are not part of the responsibilities and duties of Zona Shoppers, and as such, we will not get involved in such actions.
The vendor must protect Zona Shoppers if a dispute escalates to legal levels. In addition, the vendor must take full responsibility for the decision to use off-site payments.
Any legal action or costs against Zona Shoppers resulting from this transaction is the vendor’s responsibility. As a must, they are responsible for fees, legal costs, and even legal representation, but not limited to Zona Shoppers.
Disbursement’s Currency
The US and other countries with the same currency will receive their disbursements in dollars.
If you use Zona Shoppers in any country where Zona Shoppers is offered, your payment is in the local currency.
Vendors from countries where Zona Shoppers offers services must register their currency with their payment processor as they oversee disbursements.
If you decide to sell in other countries’ extensions of Zona Shoppers, you will be charged the currency exchange at the value rate at the transaction time. This is because currencies’ value fluctuates, and it is hard for Zona Shoppers to predict the percentage charge for future disbursements.
You can sell and receive payments from other currencies and countries but be aware of the country’s rules and regulations and the cost of currency exchange.
Refunds due to Returns or Cancellations
You entitle Zona Shoppers to refund the customer after a request for refund or cancellation if entitled.
Zona Shoppers will initiate the transaction after the vendor receives and review the merchandise. If the merchandise is not in acceptable condition, we will contact the customer to explain the situation. We suggest taking pictures before shipping to provide evidence of the conditions in which the products were sent. Taking photographs also helps demonstrate the customer’s requirements for returning the merchandise.
We suggest always providing a full refund, which is the best way to build customer trust. You can also offer store credit.
Disputes over damages on the merchandise
Suppose the customer refuses the damages done to the product. The before and after pictures are the best evidence. Proper identification numbers like UPC, GTIN, EAN, ISBN, or Zona Shoppers QR code are also good evidence. For more information, visit Customer’s Protection Policy.
Zona Shoppers Customer Protection Policy
The Customer Protection Policy protects Zona Shoppers customers’ purchases. This policy ensures the customer will receive their money back if they request a refund. The vendor agrees for Zona Shoppers to request the payment processor to refund the client on your behalf, as stated herein.
The claim must be satisfied 24 hours after receiving a tracking number or two (2) days after returning to the vendor. The vendor has the right to deduct a fee only under the rules specified in the Product Cancellation Policy. There is a list of reasons to deduct a fee and the maximum it can deduct. These fees are to protect both parties, the customer and the vendor.
If the product is no longer available, the vendor is responsible for offering a full refund or a product with better features disregarding the price. In addition, the vendor must agree to a refund if the customer rejects the gift certificate.
Lack of Funds
Once a customer claims a refund, the payment must be made within 24 hours of receiving a tracking number or 2 days after receiving the merchandise. Zona Shoppers starts the process of refunding the customer after the vendor notification.
If insufficient funds exist, you consent to Zona Shoppers to collect future funds to reimburse the Customer’s Protection program’s money. The maximum collection period is 90 days, and we will send the information to a collection agency.
Access Protection
Keeping your passwords and security access limited and hidden from people is essential. Zona Shoppers has excellent security systems, but they cannot protect you if you don’t protect your access to your accounts. The best way to protect your information is by using strong and long passwords, including upper letters, numbers, and even spaces between the words. The other main activity is not to give anyone your security access or password.
Remember, if you give your password to someone, you will open to door to a security breach. So always keep the processing payment passwords current. This means trying to change your password every other month.
Do not leave your electronics open in public or use public Wi-Fi to connect to the internet. Also, do not write the same password on everything.
If you notice a suspicious balance, transaction, disbursement, email, notification, or message, please do not open it and contact us immediately. Instead, please send us an email with your concerns at [email protected].
Zona Shoppers will never send you an email requesting information that you already provided. However, we will notify you through the dashboard if we need an update on your information.
Special Discounts, Coupons, and Gift Cards
If requested, you agree to a deduction per transaction based on a discount offer, coupon, or gift card. Only one deduction will be accepted per transaction.
Future Modifications on the Payment Policy
Zona Shoppers reserves the right to amend, change, modify, or delete parts or sections of this Payment Policy.
You will be notified through Dashboard and email at least 30 days before the effective date.
If you disagree with the new changes to this Payment Policy, we may terminate your selling rights.
Termination of Payment Use Privilege
Zona Shoppers reserves the right to terminate the use of our payment processors based on not acceptance of the policy and its terms, legal requirements, dispute outcome, court or law enforcement request, illegal activities, false identity, or identity unverifiable, violation of Zona Shoppers terms or policies, debt to Affiliates or Zona Shoppers, list Prohibited and Control Products,
You can terminate your Zona Shoppers account, but your disbursement will be completed once the 30-day refund from the last product you sold has passed or the payment to Affiliates has been satisfied.
Before we terminate your services, we will notify you regarding the inconsistency that may lead to termination.
We will provide a 30-day notice before termination. However, we will permanently terminate all services if no action is taken on the 31st.
You will lose your rights to list, sell, or collect payment. If you have a balance, you will receive a disbursement only after the 30-day refund time has passed.
If a serious legal issue is found, the store will be placed on hold immediately and eventually terminated.
We will notify you about the seriousness of the situation through email or a dashboard. The notice will be adequate immediately after the corroboration of illegal actions. There will be no last days for a notification if illegal activities are committed.
Terminating services does not imply you are no longer responsible for disputes, fees, penalties, or legal issues. However, you are still responsible for any, but not limited to, outcomes from your actions.
Collection of Debts and Fees Owe to Zona Shoppers or Zona Shoppers Affiliates
You consent to Zona Shoppers (collectively known as the “Site,” “we,” and “us”) to collect debts due to mistakes in charges, incorrect disbursements, incorrect refund fees, disputes expenses, and legal fees in which you agree to be part of, or any other miscalculation done incorrectly without malicious intentions, from a disputed outcome, by error, or any possible cause.
You also consent to Zona Shoppers to collect payments for the Affiliates if their actions promoted your products’ direct sale, according to Zona Shoppers’ percentage stipulated for Affiliates or the rate agreed by you and the Affiliate.
You also consent to Zona Shoppers to collect sales taxes and provide the tax authorities’ information required without court involvement.
Zona Shoppers will recoup the debts either through present or future proceeds in a maximum time of 30 days or through a payback requested to your linked financial processor. You are responsible for any fees or charges applied to us from the link payment processor.
After this period, we will place your account on hold until the fees are paid in full.
Before any action is done, we will notify you through the dashboard or email.
Appointment of Zona Shoppers as Limited Collection Agent for Vendors
By selling product on Zona Shoppers, all vendor appoints Zona Shoppers as their agent for the limited purpose of receiving, holding, and settling payments to vendors. Zona Shoppers will accept payments for sold products, solve payment requests, make payments to the vendor, withhold reserve funds, and withhold balances until applicable transfers. Under this Policy, each vendor agrees that Zona Shoppers will receive payments from customers (buyers) due to a sale, hold, and later release per all sections herein.
If there is a conflict regarding any settlement between a customer and a vendor, the vendor and /or the customer cannot seek recourse against Zona Shoppers.
Deposits
Payment Account. All funds resulting from a completed transaction will be reflected as a balance in a vendor’s payment account. Once the payment is finally approved and passes the fraud analysis, it will move to the vendor account as a balance. The vendor has the option of a percentage payment based on their evaluation.
Any refunds, adjustments, or other amounts paid to customers in connection with purchases or funds received since the last payment day are also applied to the vendor’s payment account balance after the final approval. Also, commissions and any other charges generated by a third-party payment service are deducted from the vendor’s balance.
Funds in the vendor’s balance are eligible to be deposited into the vendor’s account once the suitable time requested by Zona Shoppers has passed. However, once the fund is transferred, Zona Shoppers has no control over the time it will take the third party to release the funds.
Country and Currency Options.
Funds from sales in other countries can only be deposited in local currencies. Charges for currency exchange will be deducted from the vendor’s balance.
Scheduled Deposits
When Do I receive my payment from a Sale?
Zona Shoppers offers Customer Purchasing Protection and Vendor Protection. Both provide quality services. We have designed a process to maintain a level of funds on your account balance for both policies to work. This balance is to prevent not having enough for refunds. Remember that you, as the vendor, are responsible for reimbursing the customer’s money. As such, please verify the following information for your convenience.
Under this Payment Policy, you agree to Zona Shoppers to withhold a percentage of each sale for future refunds.
Once the payment processor disbursed the payout from your balance, we need to deduct the taxes, commission, and discounts (including if you used an Affiliate to increase sales). Please check this table to acknowledge the percentage disperse according to each evaluation level.
Types of Schedules:
Vendors with sales of 10 items or more per day:
Those vendors with sales of 10 or more per day will receive payment immediately after the Payment Processor disbursed the money with a retention of 10% for Reserve Funds.
Vendors with sales of 9 or fewer items per day:
Those vendors with sales of 9 or fewer items per day will receive payment immediately after the Payment Processor disbursed the money with a retention of 15% for Reserve Funds.
A vendor with sporadical sales:
Those vendors with sporadical sales will receive payment their payments after the 30 days return, refund, or exchange period have passed.
Note: If you are a new vendor with more than 3% return, refund, or exchange, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate in the immediate payment process with a low percentage. Those with high return rates will fall under a particular category:
A vendor with High Return Rate:
Those vendors with a return rate of 3% or higher will receive payment immediately after the Payment Processor disbursed the money with a retention of 25% for Reserve Funds.
At Zona Shoppers, we take security and safety very seriously. Therefore, if we suspect misuse of the payment process, chargebacks, or disputes, we may, in our sole discretion, put a hold, deposit delay, and reserve on the vendor’s payment account balance.
Zona Shoppers reserves the right to place a hold on funds associated with a particular transaction if there is a dispute or investigation related to the order for a period of (a) 32 days after the estimated established disbursement date or (b) completion of any investigation regarding the vendor’s actions.
A deposit delay is the total amount of days funds are withheld from the vendor’s disbursement. Depending on the situation, it may have a length of time between 32 to 180 days. A delay can be applied to all transactions done in Zona Shoppers. By participating in Zona Shoppers, the vendor acknowledges the possibility of having a deposit delay and accepting such action as part of selling or providing services on Zona Shoppers.
Upon placing a hold or a deposit delay, it is pivotal to maintain vivid communication to solve the particularity that causes such actions. Zona Shoppers reserves the right to a deposit delay or holds. Zona Shoppers is not responsible for fees or expenses due to holds or deposit delays.
Escheatment. It deposits funds to a government account when the vendor is not prompted to provide disbursement information. This action does not happen immediately; the funds must be under Zona Shoppers’ possession for about 12 months. Zona Shoppers must demonstrate that they have done all possible actions to communicate with the vendor to obtain an up-to-date account for deposit. If the communication fails and not to date account is facilitated, we will transfer the funds into a governmental account to dispose of them.
Repayment
Repayment of Funds:
Zona Shoppers reserves the right to seek reimbursement from a vendor under these circumstances:
- Refund due to no balance on the vendor’s account. The funds must be delivered within 72 hours of the request. If payment is not provided, it can lead to one or more of the following actions:
- Zona Shoppers reserves the right to request a reverse payment of funds disbursed to the vendor’s third-party account.
- Your account will be placed on hold.
- Your account will be closed.
- All future funds will be forfeited.
- Seek reimbursement through legal actions.
- If there is an overcharge to the customer, the price is not posted or duplicated. Zona Shoppers reserves the right to refund the customer using the vendor’s funds to satisfy the overcharge.
- If there is a chargeback from a credit card or any Zona Shoppers Payment Services, the funds will be disbursed from the vendor’s account.
- If the vendor’s action affects the name and business activities of Zona Shoppers, the funds will be forfeited, and the account will be closed.
By reading this Policy and listing products on Zona Shoppers, all vendors authorize Zona Shoppers LLC (Zona Shoppers.com and Zona Shoppers mobile application) to use any previous methods to seek reimbursement. Also, all vendors allow Zona Shoppers to place on hold, suspend, or cancel the vendor’s rights to use Zona Shoppers platforms.
Payment Processing Fees
Zona Shoppers is an eCommerce with Zero Processing Fees. The fees charged are by third-party payment services or banks through Zona Shoppers Payment Services. So, the money we collect goes directly to the third-party payment service. The vendor must be aware of all third-party service charges by visiting their sites and reading. Also, Zona Shoppers does not charge for currency exchange. Still, banks and processing services will charge, like credit cards, PayPal, and/or any other service while in Zona Shoppers. Zona Shoppers will deduct these fees and others not mentioned from the vendor’s balance.
IRS Fillings
Internal Revenue Service or IRS requires Zona Shoppers to notify them about earnings made by vendors under specific qualifications. For example, Zona Shoppers must file a Form 1099-K to report annual gross sales information of vendors within the United States or be paid in USD in certain circumstances. Therefore, you need to be aware if you fall under the requirements. Please visit My IRS Information, where you can find information about this obligation.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All charges done by a third party to produce a 1099-K form or any IRS information will be deducted from the vendor’s account.
Also, if you reach 150 or more sales, regardless of the total amount earned, you must provide Zona Shoppers with your taxpayer Identification or TIN.
If you live in one of the US territories, you must apply the same rules only under your local revenue services.
Termination
Vendors have the right to terminate the use of our Payment Service at any time. By ending the use of Zona Shoppers Payment Services, the Vendor can no longer sell on Zona Shoppers. Not they can receive funds into the Vendor’s account. Also, Zona Shoppers reserves the right to hold funds to reassure the balance for possible future refunds, chargebacks, or fees against the account. After 180 days, the account is free from any hold, and the funds are disbursed to the rightful Vendor.
