Why Agent Income Is Never Tied to Merchant Borrowing

A healthy Agent model should reward real merchant value, not a merchant's ability to borrow. Knomart separates the Agent's income from merchant borrowing so that the Agent can focus on finding genuine businesses, helping them get started and supporting the relationship.

Where Agent income actually comes from

An Agent earns through merchant activity. The Agent keeps 100% of the applicable setup fee, and receives 50% of what a paid merchant pays each month for as long as that merchant stays on the paid tier.

For example, a merchant running $20 of apps pays $20 a month and the agent receives $10. One running $40 of apps returns $20. A Free merchant pays $0 per month, so there is no recurring subscription commission while the merchant remains Free.

The merchant should not need to borrow

The Agent's commission should never create pressure for a merchant to take on debt. A merchant's decision to use a paid tier should be based on whether that tier makes sense for the business, not on the Agent needing a commission.

This distinction matters. If an Agent were rewarded because a merchant borrowed money, the Agent could have an incentive to push a payment the business cannot comfortably support. That would put the Agent's income ahead of the merchant's interests.

What the model encourages instead

• Find real businesses: build a merchant book through genuine relationships.
• Start where the merchant is: a business can begin with the Free tier.
• Support the merchant: the Agent's role continues after signup.
• Let upgrades happen naturally: recurring commission begins when a merchant chooses a paid tier.

Why this protects the relationship

The Agent has a reason to help merchants succeed, but not a reason to make them borrow. The long-term opportunity comes from merchants who choose to pay for Knomart and remain on a paid tier.

The principle is simple: Agent income should follow real merchant value and real merchant payments. It should not depend on debt, loans or borrowing. That keeps the Agent's commercial interest aligned with building useful, sustainable merchant relationships.