Effective Date: August 10, 2026
This Seller Payout Policy explains when independent seller earnings become available and how payouts are sent through Mercado Sales LLC (“Mercado Sales,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). It applies only to independent sellers. Revenue from products owned and sold directly by Mercado Sales is managed separately.
Mercado Sales currently supports sellers, transactions, and payouts within the United States only. International seller payouts are not available.
By selling through Mercado Sales, you authorize Mercado Sales and its authorized payment provider to receive buyer payments, deduct applicable fees and adjustments, hold funds when permitted by this policy, and send eligible proceeds to your approved payout account.
Instant Pay
Instant Pay is the fastest way to get paid when you need that extra cash. You can use this service once per day and withdraw up to $600 per month on eligible debit cards. There is a $3 flat fee per withdrawal to use this service. Depending on your bank’s processing time, it can take up to 30 minutes to see the updated balance in your bank account.
1. Authorized Payment Provider
Mercado Sales uses an authorized third-party payment provider to process marketplace payments, verify sellers, maintain transaction balances, and send payouts.
The payment provider’s terms, privacy policy, eligibility rules, identity-verification requirements, processing times, limits, and compliance obligations also apply. If this policy conflicts with a mandatory legal or payment-provider requirement, the applicable legal or provider requirement controls.
Mercado Sales does not operate as a bank, and a Mercado Sales balance is not a checking or savings account. Funds are not available for withdrawal until they appear as Available Balance.
2. Balance Statuses
Your seller balance may include:
- Pending Balance: Proceeds from a transaction that has not yet been completed or released.
- Available Balance: Proceeds eligible for payout after applicable fees, refunds, holds, and adjustments.
- On-Hold Balance: Funds temporarily unavailable because of a claim, return, chargeback, verification review, suspected policy violation, reserve, legal requirement, or other risk review.
- Paid Balance: Funds that the payment provider has sent to your approved bank account or other eligible payout method.
- Failed or Returned Payout: A payout rejected, reversed, or returned by the financial institution or payment provider.
Displayed balances may be estimates until the relevant transaction and payment processing are finalized.
3. When Seller Proceeds Become Available
Proceeds from an eligible sale generally become available after:
- 1. The buyer's payment is successfully confirmed;
- 2. The seller enters a valid USPS, UPS, or FedEx tracking number within 48 hours after payment is confirmed;
- 3. The carrier records acceptance and delivery of the package;
- 4. The buyer accepts or rates the order, or 72 hours pass after carrier-confirmed delivery without an eligible claim; and
- 5. No return, cancellation, dispute, chargeback, account restriction, reserve, or other hold applies.
Entering tracking information does not mean the order has shipped. The tracking number must correspond to the actual order and must show a carrier acceptance scan within the applicable handling period.
Mercado Sales may require additional time or documentation before releasing proceeds when delivery cannot be verified, the tracking information is inaccurate, the transaction presents elevated risk, or a policy review is pending.
4. Amount Available for Payout
The seller’s Available Balance generally consists of the completed item price and any buyer-paid shipping amount, less:
- The applicable 10% selling fee;
- Seller-funded shipping-label costs;
- Refunds, cancellations, returns, and buyer adjustments;
- Chargebacks, payment reversals, and related expenses;
- Carrier postage adjustments or shipping claims charged to the seller;
- Taxes, withholding, reserves, or reporting adjustments required by law;
- Amounts owed from previous transactions or a negative balance; and
- Other charges expressly authorized by Mercado Sales policies and disclosed to the seller.
Mercado Sales does not currently provide prepaid shipping labels. Independent sellers are responsible for purchasing their own USPS, UPS, or FedEx labels and paying all related shipping costs.
5. Seller Verification Requirements
Before receiving a payout, a seller may be required to provide and verify:
- Legal name and date of birth;
- Residential or business address;
- Telephone number and email address;
- Social Security number, Employer Identification Number, or other taxpayer information;
- Government-issued identification;
- Business formation or ownership information, when applicable;
- Bank account or eligible debit-card information; and
- Any additional information required by law or the payment provider.
Information must be accurate, current, and consistent with the payout account. Mercado Sales or its payment provider may delay payouts, request additional documentation, or restrict selling when verification cannot be completed.
Do not send full bank-account numbers, payment-card numbers, passwords, or identity documents by ordinary email unless Mercado Sales provides a specifically authorized secure method.
6. Standard Bank Payouts
Standard payouts may be sent to an eligible United States bank account through ACH or another supported bank-transfer method.
- Mercado Sales does not charge a seller withdrawal fee for an eligible standard bank payout.
- Processing time begins after the payout is approved and submitted to the payment provider.
- Most standard payouts take several business days, but timing varies by the payment provider, receiving bank, holidays, security reviews, and other circumstances.
- An estimated arrival date is not a guarantee.
- Payout frequency and request limits may be determined by the payment provider or displayed in the seller's account.
A receiving bank or other financial institution may impose its own charges. Mercado Sales does not control third-party fees.
7. Instant Payouts
Mercado Sales may offer an optional Instant Payout to eligible sellers when supported by the payment provider.
- Instant Payout availability is not guaranteed.
- Eligibility depends on the seller's account status, transaction history, risk review, identity verification, available balance, supported bank or eligible debit card, and payment-provider requirements.
- The seller must expressly approve the displayed fee.
- Instant Payouts typically arrive faster than standard payouts, but Mercado Sales does not guarantee arrival within a specific time.
- A bank or debit card may reject or delay the transfer.
Only the limits, fees, eligibility rules, and other terms displayed in the Mercado Sales payout screen at the time of the request apply.
8. Payout Account Requirements
The payout account must:
- Be a supported United States bank account or other payment-provider-approved account;
- Belong to the seller or the seller's verified legal business;
- Use information that matches the seller's verified identity; and
- Be capable of receiving the selected payout type.
Mercado Sales or its payment provider may limit the number of Mercado Sales accounts connected to the same bank account, debit card, taxpayer identification number, address, device, or other identifying information to prevent fraud and misuse.
The seller is responsible for confirming routing numbers, account numbers, card details, legal names, and other payout information before submitting a request.
9. Changes to Payout Information
Changing a bank account, debit card, legal name, address, or other sensitive payout information may trigger:
- Identity re-verification;
- A temporary payout hold;
- Security notifications;
- Cancellation or review of a pending payout; or
- Additional documentation requirements.
Mercado Sales may delay a payout after sensitive account information is changed when reasonably necessary to protect the seller, buyers, Mercado Sales, or the payment provider.
If you did not authorize a payout-information change, contact Mercado Sales immediately.
10. Failed, Rejected, or Returned Payouts
A payout may fail or be returned because of inaccurate account information, a closed or restricted account, name mismatch, unsupported account type, bank rejection, payment-provider restriction, or another processing problem.
If a payout fails:
- 1. The payment provider may return the funds to the seller's balance;
- 2. Mercado Sales may require the seller to correct or reverify the payout information; and
- 3. The seller may submit a new payout request after the funds become available again.
Mercado Sales does not charge a failed-payout fee unless the amount is disclosed before the payout request or the fee represents an actual third-party charge permitted by law. Any applicable charge will be displayed or communicated before it is deducted when reasonably possible.
Returned funds may take several business days to appear again. Mercado Sales cannot control a bank’s rejection or return schedule.
11. Canceling or Changing a Payout
A pending payout can be canceled or changed only if the seller’s account displays a cancellation option or Mercado Sales confirms that processing has not begun.
Once a payout has been submitted to the payment provider or financial network, it generally cannot be canceled, redirected, accelerated, or changed. The seller must contact the receiving financial institution if the funds were sent to an account that the seller controls.
Mercado Sales does not guarantee a specific cancellation deadline unless one is displayed with the payout request.
12. Holds, Delays, and Reserves
Mercado Sales or its payment provider may delay, hold, or reserve funds when reasonably necessary to:
- Investigate a buyer claim, return, refund, cancellation, or chargeback;
- Verify identity, taxpayer, bank, or business information;
- Address missing, invalid, late, recycled, or unrelated tracking;
- Review suspected fraud, prohibited conduct, or policy violations;
- Cover anticipated refunds, chargebacks, negative balances, or other liabilities;
- Comply with legal process, sanctions, court orders, or regulatory requirements;
- Protect an account after suspicious access or sensitive information changes; or
- Address an unusual increase in sales, disputes, transaction size, or other risk indicators.
When permitted, Mercado Sales will notify the seller of a material hold and may request supporting documentation. The duration depends on the reason for the hold and the time required to resolve it.
13. Refunds, Chargebacks, and Negative Balances
The seller is responsible for amounts arising from the seller’s transactions, including approved refunds, payment reversals, chargebacks, shipping adjustments, policy violations, and other seller obligations.
Mercado Sales may recover an amount owed by:
- Deducting it from the Pending or Available Balance;
- Applying proceeds from future sales;
- Reversing or offsetting a payout when permitted;
- Charging an authorized payment method when legally permitted and separately authorized; or
- Requesting repayment from the seller.
Mercado Sales may suspend selling or payouts while a negative balance remains unpaid. Sellers must not create another account to avoid a negative balance or payout restriction.
14. Taxes and Information Reporting
Sellers are responsible for determining and reporting their tax obligations. Mercado Sales or its payment provider may:
- Collect taxpayer identification information;
- Apply backup withholding when required;
- Prepare and file applicable information returns, including Form 1099-K;
- Provide tax forms electronically or by mail; and
- Share required information with federal, state, or local authorities.
Tax-reporting thresholds and requirements may change. Receiving no tax form does not mean that income is not taxable. Sellers should maintain accurate records and consult a qualified tax professional regarding their circumstances.
15. Account Closure
Closing or restricting an account does not eliminate outstanding obligations. Mercado Sales may retain funds for a reasonable period after closure when necessary to cover refunds, disputes, chargebacks, legal requirements, reserves, or negative balances.
After applicable obligations are resolved, eligible remaining funds will be paid to the verified payout account or handled as required by applicable law.
16. No Guaranteed Availability
Payout services depend on the payment provider and financial networks. Mercado Sales does not guarantee that every payout method will always be available or that every seller, bank account, or debit card will qualify.
Mercado Sales may add, modify, suspend, or discontinue a payout method when permitted by law. Material changes to seller fees or payout terms will be disclosed before they take effect.
17. Seller Responsibility
The seller must:
- Keep account, identity, tax, and payout information current;
- Protect login credentials and enable available security features;
- Review payout information before confirming a request;
- Monitor payout status and promptly report unauthorized activity;
- Maintain records of sales, shipping, refunds, expenses, and payouts; and
- Cooperate with payment-provider, tax, compliance, and transaction reviews.
Mercado Sales is not responsible for losses caused by inaccurate seller-provided information, unauthorized access resulting from the seller’s failure to protect an account, bank delays, or circumstances outside Mercado Sales’ reasonable control, except where applicable law provides otherwise.
Contact Mercado Sales
For questions about balances, payout status, verification, or unauthorized activity:
Include your order or payout reference number when available. Never send passwords, full payment-card numbers, or full bank-account numbers by email.
How to request a direct deposit to your checking account
- Tap Settings > Balance > “Transfer my balance”
- Enter your name as it appears on the checking account*, including the routing and account numbers.
- Confirm the amount you want to transfer then tap “Confirm.” When the direct deposit is processed, we’ll send you an email confirmation.
