Tiers: Open and Merchant of Record
Every INVO developer account is on one of two tiers. The tier decides who the seller is when a player pays by card, who handles sales tax, VAT and GST on those sales, and the fees INVO charges. Your integration is the same on both: the same endpoints, the same webhooks, the same payouts.
At a glance
| Open (default) | Merchant of Record (by approval) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who has it | Every account, from the day it is created. | Accounts INVO has approved. Apply by contacting INVO. |
| Who is the seller on card sales | Your business. | INVO. |
| Sales tax, VAT, GST | You are responsible for any tax owed on your sales. INVO does not calculate, collect or remit it. | INVO calculates, collects and remits consumption tax on your behalf. |
| Receipts | Your own, if you issue them. | INVO issues tax-compliant receipts. |
| Payments and payouts | Both tiers: INVO processes the payment and pays your share out to your bank account directly. | |
| Steam and game storefront sales | Both tiers: the storefront is the seller and handles tax on those sales. | |
Fees
| What happens | Open | Merchant of Record |
|---|---|---|
| A player buys coins by card | 3.5% + $0.30 card processing fee, paid by the player on top of the price | 5% + $0.30 |
| A card charge for an item on a platform (Platform Commerce, card leg) | 3.5% + $0.30, taken from your proceeds | 5% + $0.30 |
| A player buys an item with coins (Item Purchase) | 10% (90% to you) | Same as Open |
| A platform item paid from the user's balance (Platform Commerce, balance leg) | 3.5% | Same as Open |
| Subscriptions | 7% + $0.30 per card charge | 8.5% + $0.30 per card charge |
| Transfers | The network standard: a 10% network transfer fee, split 3.5% to the source title, 3.5% to the destination title and 3% to INVO | Same as Open |
Where an API response or webhook reports a fee or your share of a sale, read the figure there rather than recomputing it. Steam and game storefront purchases carry no INVO card processing fee: the storefront charges the player and takes its own cut.
Open: the default
Every account starts on Open, including every existing account. There is nothing to apply for and nothing to configure.
Your business is the seller of what you sell through INVO: coins, items and subscriptions. INVO processes the payment, keeps its fee, and pays your share out to you through payouts.
Tax is yours. INVO does not calculate, collect or remit sales tax, VAT or GST on Open-tier sales. If your sales are taxable where your players are, price for it and file it yourself. The tax fields on quotes and webhooks (tax_usd, tax_refunded_usd and the rest) read 0.00 or null on this tier.
Players pay the card processing fee on coin purchases. It is 3.5% of the price plus $0.30, added on top, so the player gets every coin you listed. How it is shown and charged depends on the route you use; see the card processing fee.
Merchant of Record: by approval
INVO becomes the seller on your card sales. INVO calculates, collects and remits consumption tax on your behalf and issues tax-compliant receipts to your players.
It requires INVO's approval, given per developer account. INVO reviews the account before approving it. To apply, contact INVO at partners@invo.network or through your INVO contact.
Fees: 5% + $0.30 on card purchases of coins and on card charges, and 8.5% + $0.30 per card charge on subscriptions. Item purchases and transfers are the same as on Open.
Steam and game storefront rails
When a player pays through Steam or through the game storefront rail (rail: "game" on hosted checkout), the storefront is the seller, on both tiers. It charges the player, shows and collects any tax at its own checkout, and remits it. INVO adds no tax and no card processing fee to those purchases.
Refunds and chargebacks follow the same rules on both tiers. A card purchase of coins is refundable only for the coins the player has not spent. See refunds and chargebacks.
Questions about your tier, or ready to apply for Merchant of Record? Email partners@invo.network.