Affiliate window have this week launched what they are calling a ‘Payment Status Traffic Light System’
It is a system designed to indicate how good a merchant is at paying out commissions. Which in these troubled economic times is a vital bit of information for an affiliate.
The traffic light colours have the following meaning:
Green
- Merchant has an up to date payment record and no payment restrictions.
- Affiliates will be paid for all approved commissions regardless of when the merchant pays Affiliate Window.
Amber
- Merchant has longer than standard payment terms, is overdue on some invoices or has little or no credit insurance limit.
- Affiliates will be paid for approved commissions only when payment for corresponding invoices has been received by Affiliate Window.
- It may take longer for affiliates to receive money from amber rated merchants.
Red
- Merchant has no credit insurance limit, a series of overdue invoices and may be in financial difficulty.
- Approved commissions will only be paid when Affiliate Window have been paid in full for all outstanding invoices.
My current view is that this is an excellent idea, giving the information to the affiliate about the risk involved with dealing with a merchant.
I also did nto realise that in many cases the Network will actually payout commissions to affiliate before they actually recieve the money from the merchant.
