ADR-0003: Never hold funds — licensed PSP with a sub-merchant model

• Date: 2026-09-18
• Status: Withdrawn — the merchant payment surface it governs was removed with the vertical (see ADR-0010). The record is kept for history.
• Deciders: the owner, Claude (seed)
• Tags: compliance revenue

Context

Offering payments or BNPL directly requires a SAMA licence. Tabby and Tamara are licensed and have their own merchant terms. The product wants a share of payments without becoming a payment service provider.

Decision

Every money flow passes through a licensed PSP in the merchant's name (sub-merchant). The platform creates the sub-account, enables the methods (mada, Apple Pay, Tabby, Tamara), and only receives webhooks.

• Platform revenue from payments comes through the PSP partner programme (revenue share), not by collecting and then transferring.
• There is no platform balance table in the database.

Consequences

• Positive — no SAMA licence required for the platform, direct settlement to the merchant, higher trust.
• Negative — the share depends on the PSP contract; the range of methods depends on what the partner supports.
• Revenue impact (SAR / month, confidence) — R2 ≈ 45,000 at 1,000 merchants (low confidence until the contract is signed).

Rejected alternatives

• Becoming a payment facilitator: licensing, capital, and compliance beyond the reach of this phase.
• Direct Tabby / Tamara integration only: leaves mada and Apple Pay without a unified solution.

References

Withdrawn 2026-09-20. This record describes a surface that is no longer part of the product: the merchant payment surface it governs was removed with the vertical. ADR-0010 records the decision.