Partner Roles and Responsibilities
To ensure a high-standard, secure, and compliant payment ecosystem, Constellation Payments (“Constellation,” “we,” or “our”) requires Partners to adhere to the following operational standards. These standards define the Service Level Requirements for Partners based on the roles elected in their specific Partner Agreement.
1. Service Level Assignment Matrix
The following table defines the allocation of duties between the Partner and Constellation based on the Service Level elected in the Partner Agreement.
| Responsibility Area | ISV | PFaaS Lite | PFaaS Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chargeback Liability Allocation | CPP | As defined in TOS | As defined in TOS |
| Chargebacks & Disputes – Execution | CPP | Partner | Partner |
| Data Accuracy (Merchant Information) | CPP | Partner | Partner |
| Escalated Support (L2 / L3) | CPP | CPP | CPP |
| Fee Changes – Merchant-Level | CPP | CPP | Partner |
| Fee Enforcement & Billing Accuracy | CPP | CPP | Partner |
| Fee Management (Ongoing) | CPP | CPP | Partner |
| First-Line Merchant Support (L1) | CPP | Partner | Partner |
| Funding & Settlement | CPP | CPP | CPP |
| Governance & Performance Reviews | CPP | CPP | CPP |
| Merchant Communications (Day-to-Day) | CPP | Partner | Partner |
| Merchant Contracting (Payments) | CPP | CPP | CPP |
| Merchant Onboarding Assistance (Non-KYC Data) | CPP | Partner | Partner |
| Merchant Sales Ownership | CPP | CPP | Partner |
| Pricing Authority1 | CPP | CPP | Partner |
| Refunds & Adjustments | CPP | CPP | Partner |
| Reporting & Analytics | CPP | CPP | CPP |
| Risk Monitoring & Decisioning | CPP | CPP | CPP |
| Schedule A Presentation to Merchant | CPP | CPP | Partner |
| Terminal Procurement & Logistics | CPP | Partner | Partner |
| Tier Reassignment Authority | CPP | CPP | CPP |
| Training & Enablement | CPP | Partner | Partner |
| Transaction Holds & Risk Actions | CPP | CPP | CPP |
| Underwriting & Approval | CPP | CPP | CPP |
2. Definitions and Standards
The definitions establish the mandatory "Standard of Care" for the operational areas listed in the Matrix. The party designated as responsible in the Matrix shall adhere to the following:
3. Commercial and Sales
Relationship Management
Responsibility for the primary merchant engagement model, including Software Enablement & Referrals, Support Ownership, or Full Lifecycle Ownership.
Merchant Sales Ownership
Acquisition of new sub-merchants, including lead generation and the execution of the sales cycle.
Pricing and Fee Authority
Ownership of merchant-level economic structures. This includes Pricing Authority, Ongoing Fee Management, and the execution of Fee Changes.
Billing Integrity
Responsibility for Fee Enforcement & Billing Accuracy and the Schedule A Presentation to the Merchant.
Merchant Contracting
Provision of the standard Constellation Merchant Agreement. Constellation retains sole authority over the legal terms of the Merchant Agreement.
4. Merchant Support and Training
First-Line Merchant Support (L1)
Intake and resolution of all functional inquiries, including portal navigation, user permission management, and standard operational procedures.
Escalated Support (L2/L3)
Systemic platform failures or advanced technical discrepancies. Constellation maintains responsibility for all L2/L3 escalations.
Merchant Communications
Management of day-to-day interactions, including account notifications and the collection of administrative documentation for account updates.
Training and Enablement
Delivery of education regarding platform proficiency and the reconciliation of software reports with funding data.
5. Onboarding and Risk Operations
Merchant Onboarding Assistance
Facilitation of Non-KYC Data collection to ensure the completion of the merchant application profile.
Underwriting and Approval
Evaluation of merchant applications and final determination of account status. Constellation retains sole authority over this function.
Risk Monitoring and Decisioning
Ongoing surveillance of processing activity and the adjudication of transaction legitimacy. Constellation retains sole authority over this function.
Transaction Holds and Risk Actions
Execution of fund holds, reserves, or account suspensions based on risk parameters. Constellation retains sole authority over this function.
Chargebacks and Disputes
Execution of the dispute representation process, including evidence gathering. Chargeback Liability Allocation remains as defined in the Partner TOS.
Refunds and Adjustments
Authority over the issuance of financial reversals and manual merchant fee adjustments.
Data Accuracy
Maintenance of verified merchant records, including DBA names, physical addresses, and banking information. Repeated failures may result in corrective fees, suspension of onboarding privileges, or tier reassignment.
6. Technical and Operational Governance
Terminal Procurement and Logistics
Lifecycle management of physical hardware, including order placement, inventory tracking, and delivery updates.
Reporting and Analytics
Maintenance of the core reporting infrastructure and the provision of daily transaction and portfolio data.
Funding and Settlement
Management of the movement of funds and final settlement to the merchant’s bank of record.
Governance and Performance
Execution of Governance & Performance Reviews and the exercise of Tier Reassignment Authority based on Partner adherence to these Service Level Requirements.
Tier Reassignment Triggers
Tier reassignment may be exercised due to excessive chargebacks, SLA failures, compliance violations, repeated merchant complaints, data integrity issues, failure to maintain required certifications or obligations outlined in the Partner Agreement, Partner Terms of Service, or Partner Roles and Responsibilities.