Customer pays once
The checkout total combines the cafe items, delivery fee, platform fee, card processing, tax when required, and separate optional driver and coffee-shop tips. Both tips start at $0. The full amount is shown before confirmation.
PAYMENT OPERATIONS
One charge in. Three clear destinations.
Shops can register and add menu prices now. Each participating shop and driver connects a bank account through Stripe. Customer payments open when Espresso Run completes payment activation.
The intended money flow
The cafe amount is protected
The menu amount after the shop’s own discounts belongs to the store. Espresso Run records that amount separately from delivery, tip, and platform revenue.
Store and driver are settled
After delivery is confirmed and the owner releases settlement, the platform sends the cafe its menu amount plus 100% of the optional coffee-shop tip and sends the driver the delivery fee plus 100% of the optional driver tip. The shop controls whether to offer shop tips and handles distribution to its team. Espresso Run keeps none of either tip or the delivery fee because the driver performed that work.
How the driver pays the store
The driver should not use a personal card. The production flow is direct connected-store settlement: the store accepts the Espresso Run order, the platform collects the customer payment, and the owner releases the coffee amount after shop discounts to the store. If a cafe insists on counter payment, that location needs a platform-controlled, order-limited card program before it can go live.
Connected store settlement
The store links a verified Stripe payout account. Espresso Run records the order and transfers the cafe amount after payment and delivery are confirmed.
Order-limited platform card
The runner gets a controlled payment method limited to that order. Personal reimbursement is not the normal workflow.
What is installed now
- Separate order fields for customer payment, store settlement, and driver payout status.
- Store-owned menu prices saved in the database.
- 100% of the delivery fee and driver tip are calculated for the runner. A separate optional shop tip is added to the shop transfer.
- Owner visibility into order assignment and payment readiness.
- Stripe-hosted customer Checkout sessions.
- Stripe Connect onboarding for stores and drivers.
- Signed, idempotent webhook reconciliation.
- Owner-controlled store and driver transfers after paid delivery.
What still requires activation or policy
- A Stripe business account approved for the Espresso Run marketplace and Connect.
- Live secret keys and a signed webhook endpoint.
- Refund, cancellation, dispute, tax, and receipt policies.
- An order-limited card program for non-integrated cafes, if used.
- Final fee testing: the processing line is adjustable so the owner can keep card costs from consuming the 25-cent platform amount.
When does the shop receive its money?
A transfer moves the coffee amount to the shop’s Stripe balance. Stripe then pays its bank account on the account’s payout schedule; a transfer does not mean an instant bank deposit. Shops can follow settlement status in their portal.
With this payment model, Stripe fees, refunds, and disputes are charged to the platform. Driver tips and delivery fees remain separately recorded.