NeroConnect uses precise terms for money movement, pricing and account state. This page defines every one of them in one place. If a figure on a report or a setting in your dashboard is not behaving as you expect, the answer is usually a definition rather than a fault.
The three parties
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| NeroPay | The regulated processor underneath. Owns KYC, compliance decisions and the caps no platform setting can exceed |
| Platform | Your NeroConnect account. Creates merchants, sets their pricing and brands their experience |
| Connected account | An individual merchant taking payments under your platform |
| Platform account ID | Your own NeroConnect identifier, used for API calls made as the platform |
Fees and margin
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Application fee | Your charge on a connected-account payment — the difference between what the merchant is charged and NeroPay's cost |
| NCPA | NeroConnect platform application fee, credited to your ledger |
| NCPF | NeroPay processing fee, debited from your platform where you are the fee payer |
| Net transaction margin | NCPA less NCPF, before monthly plan charges |
| Additional service margin | Settled margin on SMS, non-UK card, extra payment method, instant payout and refund pricing |
| Protected base | NeroPay's floor cost for a service. A retail price below it is floored automatically |
| Processing fee payer | Whether NeroPay's processing cost is collected from your platform or from the merchant. Set by NeroPay |
| Payment allocation | How one payment was split: customer paid, connected kept, platform fee received, NeroPay costs, platform net margin |
Balances
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Available balance | Cleared platform funds you can use |
| Connect reserve | Ring-fenced platform funds covering connected-account shortfalls and platform-paid processing |
| Normal balance | A merchant's payment wallet |
| Reserve balance | Funds held back on a specific merchant pending review |
| Debt balance | Amount due. A negative figure means the merchant owes NeroPay, usually an unfunded fee |
| NeroBusiness balance | Snapshot of a merchant's linked business account, where one exists |
💡 Note: Platform-paid processing draws only on your available balance and your Connect reserve. Where neither can cover a payment's NeroPay cost, that individual payment falls back to connected-account fee collection rather than creating an unfunded balance.
Limits
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hard cap | NeroPay's maximum for a payout limit. Platform settings may only reduce it |
| Effective value | A limit or rate after your choice and NeroPay's cap have both been applied |
| NeroDisburse | Recurring disbursement and payout orchestration, with its own daily maximum |
Account state
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | On reports, a merchant or terminal with at least one successful payment inside the selected dates. A registered but untraded account does not count |
| Onboarding — connected | Provider setup complete |
| Onboarding — pending | Setup started and not finished |
| Onboarding — not started | Account created, setup not begun |
| Account mode | Full active, or deactivated by the platform. Reversible, and separate from a NeroPay compliance action |
| KYC | Identity verification, controlled by NeroPay in every partnership mode |
| Attention queue | Accounts with an open dispute, a transaction proof request or an outstanding compliance check. Runs independently of any date filter |
⚠️ Period totals on reports count unique merchants and readers, so they do not always equal the sum of the monthly figures above them. A merchant active in three months is counted once in the period total.
Store and branding
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Store mode | Whether the hardware store appears NeroPay branded, platform branded, or hidden from your merchants |
| Supply cost | What NeroPay charges you for a catalogue item. Debited once when the order is paid, whatever payment term the merchant chose |
| Gross margin | Your selling price less the supply cost, shown live as you set the price |
| White-label URL | The login or registration link you give merchants, on your custom domain where one is active |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between NCPA and my application fee?
The application fee is the charge a payment generates. NCPA is the credit actually recorded in your ledger for it. Reports show both, because a fee generated and a fee settled are different events.
Why do my active merchant counts differ between two reports?
Check the date range and the channel filter first. Active means at least one successful payment inside the selected dates, manual keyed payments and recurring invoices are excluded from the online figure, and period totals count each merchant once rather than once per month.
What is the difference between reserve balance and Connect reserve?
Connect reserve is yours — ring-fenced platform funds. A reserve balance is a merchant's, holding specific transactions back pending review. They are unrelated.
A service shows 0.00% margin. Is something broken?
No. It means that service is priced at exactly its protected base, so it is being passed through at NeroPay's cost. Raise the retail price to earn margin on it.
Still need help? Contact us at support@neropay.app or create a ticket.