Selling on credit: how it works on Mercatren
How a merchant gives trusted customers a spending limit, tracks their payments, and collects each one — without Mercatren lending a cent.
Plenty of merchants sell on credit: they know the customer, hand over the goods, and get paid in pieces. It works because the merchant knows exactly who they're extending credit to. What's usually missing is the tracking — how much each one has paid, what's left, who's fallen behind.
Mercatren provides that tracking. The merchant still decides who gets credit and how much; what the platform adds is the limit, a record of every payment, and the money landing in their account.
The merchant extends the credit, not Mercatren
The merchant decides who, how much, and for how long, and hands over the goods under their own agreement with the customer. Mercatren LLC does not lend money or act as guarantor: if a customer doesn't pay, that's between them and their supplier.
How the money flows
Each customer payment is a complete, closed purchase. When the customer pays 300 dollars, Mercatren buys 300 dollars of goods from the merchant's inventory and pays for them. Next payment, another purchase. And so on until it's settled.
That's why Mercatren LLC never finances anything: it keeps buying and reselling goods, which is what it has always done. Lending money in the United States requires state lender licenses, and this model doesn't need them because it doesn't lend.
Step by step
- 1
The merchant agrees on credit with the customer
Off-platform, the way they always have: they ask for whatever documents they see fit and decide whether to extend credit, and how much.
- 2
They set the limit from their dashboard
Under Credit, from the three-dot menu, they set the amount and the number of days. Who turned it on and when is recorded.
- 3
The customer buys against their limit
They build a normal order. Only they see the option to pay with their limit; no other shopper knows that merchant offers credit.
- 4
The merchant hands over the goods
Under their agreement with the customer. Mercatren records that the order went out, but delivery and its terms are the merchant's call.
- 5
The customer pays when they can
They see exactly what they owe and pay whatever they want, with a receipt, like any other payment on the site.
- 6
The money lands and the limit frees up
Once the payment clears, Mercatren buys that portion from the merchant and pays for it. The customer's limit frees up by that amount.
A worked example
| When | What the customer does | Merchant receives | Still owes | Limit available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Buys and takes the goods | — | $2,000 | $0 |
| Day 1 | Pays $500 | $500 | $1,500 | $500 |
| Day 15 | Pays $1,200 | $1,200 | $300 | $1,700 |
| Day 27 | Pays $300 | $300 | $0 | $2,000 |
What each side sees
- The merchant: a list of customers with credit, each one's limit, what they owe, and what's still available.
- The customer: how much they've paid, what's left, when it's due, and every payment with its date.
- Nobody else: a regular shopper at that store never sees that the merchant offers credit.
How it gets turned on
The limit is set from the customer's three-dot menu, never from a loose button. It's a money decision and it can't be triggered by a stray tap — and every activation is signed with the account that made it and the date.