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Billing: What's Changing

relay is introducing a prepaid credit billing model for integration services access. This page is a plain-language overview for both business and engineering stakeholders at partner organizations (TSPs). If you're an engineer looking for API or SDK implementation details, jump to For engineering teams below.

What's changing​

Going forward, access to relay's screening and report services over the API and SDK is gated by a prepaid credit balance on your organization's account:

  • You purchase credits in advance.
  • Each completed screening report draws down your balance.
  • If your balance reaches $0, new report requests are paused until you add credits.
  • You can enable automatic recharge so your balance is topped up before it runs out, keeping access uninterrupted.

This is a change to how relay bills your organization — it does not change the screening flow itself, the data you receive, or how your own customers experience your product.

What's not changing​

  • Your existing integration keeps working. If you're a current partner on the existing Stripe Connect billing model, that integration continues to operate without interruption during the transition — there is no hard cutover. Both mechanisms run in parallel until you migrate.
  • Your end-customer billing is unaffected. How — or whether — you charge your own customers for screenings is entirely your business and is untouched by this change. relay's billing relationship is with your organization, not your customers.
  • Consumer-facing payment flows are separate. Consumer-paid screening via Stripe Checkout is a distinct mechanism from prepaid credits and is not altered by this change.

Is this the same as my Stripe Connect integration?​

No. The existing Stripe Connect payments integration facilitates per-transaction rental application fee collection from renters (an outbound payout model). Prepaid credit billing is a separate, inbound mechanism — you purchase credits directly from relay to cover your organization's usage of screening services. If your engineering team built against the Stripe Connect API, don't assume Billing works the same way; give your team time to review the technical detail linked below before you migrate.

FAQ​

Do I need to do anything right now? Not for your existing integration — it will keep working as-is until you migrate. If you're interested in early access to prepaid credit billing, contact your relay account manager or integration support.

What happens if my balance runs out? New report requests are blocked with a clear, structured error until credits are added — no reports are generated and no charge is incurred for a blocked request. Service resumes automatically once your balance is restored; there's no session to reset.

Will this cost more than my current billing model? This page doesn't cover pricing. Contact your relay account manager for details specific to your account.

When is this generally available? There's no fixed public launch date yet — it's rolling out to TSPs on a staged basis. Contact us if you'd like to discuss early access.

For engineering teams​

Full technical reference, including the error contract, code samples, and recommended handling:

Questions? Contact integration support or your relay account manager.