What is Autopay?

Autopay pays your affiliates automatically. When an affiliate reaches the payout threshold you've configured, or a scheduled payout date arrives, Simple Affiliate sends the affiliate's full commission through Stripe and charges the applicable processing fee to you separately. No one-by-one transfers, and nothing skimmed off the affiliate's side.

Setting it up

Open the Autopay setup in Simple Affiliate, choose a supported payment method, and connect your bank account, debit card, or credit card through Stripe. Configure the payout threshold or schedule for your store, check the processing fee for your plan and payment method, and save. From then on, payouts to eligible affiliates run through Stripe on their own.

The fee math on a $100 commission

Fees depend on your plan and payment method:

So a $100 commission paid through Autopay on the Pro plan with a bank method costs you $103.90, and the affiliate still receives the complete $100. That's deliberate: processing fees are the merchant's cost, never the affiliate's.

More worked examples: https://help.simple-affiliate.com/en/articles/6326866-auto-pay-overview-processing-fees.

Where the fees drop to zero

PayPal and store credit payouts have no Simple Affiliate processing fee on every plan. Manual payouts, available on Premium, carry no Simple Affiliate processing fee either, though manual means manual — completing those payouts is on you.

Tax forms for U.S. affiliates

For eligible U.S. affiliates receiving Autopay payouts, Simple Affiliate can facilitate IRS Form 1099-K and Form 1099-NEC when the applicable volume and IRS thresholds require them. Affiliates can pick up issued forms from their affiliate dashboard. None of this covers your own tax compliance as a merchant: keeping your business and payout information accurate, and meeting your wider obligations, stays with you.

After it's running

Watch the payout status and the connected payment method, and explain your threshold or schedule and commission rules to affiliates so payouts don't surprise anyone. If you disconnect the payment method or stop using Autopay, future payouts follow whatever payout method remains available in your Simple Affiliate setup. Nothing gets substituted automatically.