Answers to the commercial questions that come up most when integrating, especially for marketplace and split-payment integrations. For the object-model definitions used below (recipient, rolling reserve, settlement vs. payout), see Concepts.
Do rolling reserves apply to my account?
Not universally — it's applied case-by-case, based on your industry and risk profile, not a standing feature every merchant opts into. If Mamo's industry risk calculator and Risk team determine it applies to your account: 10–25% of each transaction (before fees) is held in a reserve, deducted at the time the payment is processed, and released back to you roughly 26 weeks (6 months) after that payment settles — continuously, as each transaction's hold period passes, shown as "Rolling reserve released" in your settlement statements and dashboard finances. It cannot be waived or released earlier than that 26-week period once applied. See Mamo's Help Center for the full policy.
Ask your Mamo contact to confirm whether a reserve applies to your specific account.
Do UAE and international cards have different processing fees?
Yes. Mamo's published plan pricing (see mamopay.com/pricing) prices international cards higher than UAE-issued cards on every plan:
| Plan | UAE cards | International cards |
|---|---|---|
| Growth (default, no monthly fee) | 2.9% + AED 1 | 3.4% + AED 1 |
| Premium (AED 99/month) | 2.7% + AED 0.8 | 3.2% + AED 0.8 |
Industry-specific (Education/Government/Real Estate) and Enterprise plans have their own custom rates — check the pricing page or your dashboard's Developer page for your account's actual contracted rate, which may differ from these published defaults. The card's origin (UAE card or International card) is reported on every Payment Object, so you can reconcile which rate applied to a given transaction.
Separately, a non-AED-denominated payment also carries an FX/currency surcharge regardless of card origin — see Marketplace & Split Payments → Currency & FX for that mechanic.
Does issuing a refund cost a fee, and do I get the original fee back?
Issuing a refund never carries its own fee. But the original processing fee charged when the payment was captured is not returned to you when you refund it — through the public API, this holds for both full and partial refunds (refunding half a payment doesn't refund half the fee either). See Refund API for the full refund lifecycle and what blocks a refund.
If I hold funds in my balance instead of using payouts_share, how long can I hold them?
payouts_share, how long can I hold them?There's no API-enforced deadline. This is the second pattern described in Marketplace & Split Payments → Controlling when funds move: collect the full payment with no split, confirm your own condition (delivery, review period, dispute window), then call the Payouts API with the recipient's ID whenever you're ready to pay them. You control the timing entirely.
This is independent of your own account's settlement configuration (automatic vs. manual) — that setting only governs when your own revenue share reaches your own bank account (see Concepts → Settlement vs. payout), and has no bearing on when you choose to pay a recipient.
Getting help
None of the above substitutes for your actual contracted terms. For your account's specific rates, reserve status, or settlement configuration, reach out to [email protected] or your Mamo contact.