PayStage – Milestone Payments & Buyer Protection for Dokan, WCFM, MultiVendorX, and WooCommerce Product Vendors

PayStage helps marketplace operators protect buyers and vendors by holding online payments until the buyer confirms delivery. When an order is paid online, PayStage marks the order as held, keeps funds in your configured flow until the buyer confirms receipt, and then completes the order so the vendor is paid.

PayStage works with: – Dokan Multivendor (40,000+ active installs) – WCFM Marketplace (10,000+ active installs) – MultiVendorX / WC Marketplace (5,000+ active installs) – WooCommerce Product Vendors (official WooCommerce extension)

The plugin is built for stores running Dokan (Lite or Pro), WCFM Marketplace, MultiVendorX, or WooCommerce Product Vendors on top of WooCommerce. Admins can see PayStage status on each order, configure how long the buyer has to inspect the purchase, and release payment manually if needed.

Typical flow: the customer places an order and pays online; PayStage records the hold; the buyer opens the order in My Account and confirms delivery when satisfied; the order can then complete and the vendor payment proceeds according to your marketplace rules. If something goes wrong, the buyer can open a dispute; admins use the PayStage Disputes screen to choose a resolution (full refund, full release to vendor, or split), with email notifications to the parties involved.

External services

This plugin does not send order or customer data to PayStage servers or other third-party APIs. Notifications use WordPress wp_mail() (delivered according to your site’s email configuration).

A bundled Stripe PHP SDK exists under vendor/ for possible future use; PayStage does not call Stripe or other payment APIs in this version.

Hooks & Filters

Actions

paystage_payment_held – Fires when vendor payment is held. Parameters: $order_id (int), $vendor_id (int), $order (WC_Order)

paystage_payment_released – Fires when payment is released. Parameters: $order_id (int), $vendor_id (int), $release_type (string: buyer_confirmed|auto_released|admin_released), $order (WC_Order)

paystage_dispute_opened – Fires when buyer opens a dispute. Parameters: $order_id (int), $reason (string), $details (string), $order (WC_Order)

paystage_dispute_resolved – Fires when admin resolves a dispute. Parameters: $order_id (int), $resolution (string: refund|release|split), $refund_amount (float), $order (WC_Order)

Filters

paystage_should_hold_order – Return false to skip hold for a specific order. Parameters: $should_hold (bool), $order (WC_Order)

paystage_inspection_period_days – Override inspection period for a specific order. Parameters: $days (int), $order_id (int)

Vendor Terms Template

PayStage requires marketplace operators to disclose payment hold terms to their vendors. Copy and adapt the following template for your vendor terms of service:

Payment Hold Policy

When a buyer places an order on our marketplace, your payment for that order will be held for [X] days (the “Inspection Period”) to allow the buyer to confirm delivery. During this period you will not be able to withdraw these earnings.

Payment will be released to you when: – The buyer confirms delivery of the order, OR – The Inspection Period expires with no buyer action

If the buyer opens a dispute during the Inspection Period, payment will remain on hold until the dispute is resolved by our marketplace administrators.

This policy exists to protect buyers and maintain trust on our marketplace. By selling on our marketplace you agree to these payment terms.