When Express or Custom platforms create charges directly on connected accounts, what will the platform miss?

The ability to view aggregated merchant reporting is indeed a crucial aspect that platforms miss when they create charges directly on connected accounts under Express or Custom configurations. When transactions are processed directly on connected accounts, the platform does not have a unified overview of the performance and transaction data across those accounts. This limitation can hinder the platform's ability to analyze overall transaction trends, sales success, and account performance metrics, which are essential for making informed decisions and strategic planning.

This aggregated reporting capability is particularly important for platforms that want to evaluate the success of their connected merchants, understand market trends, or optimize their services based on performance data. Without access to this consolidated information, platforms may struggle to support their merchants effectively or leverage insights that drive growth and engagement within their ecosystem.

In contrast, while control over marketing strategies, access to customer feedback, and the ability to process refunds directly are all important for a platform's operations, they do not directly relate to the absence of a holistic view of transaction data that aggregated reporting provides. Therefore, the key missed opportunity for platforms creating charges directly on connected accounts pertains to the comprehensive analytics and insights that such a reporting mechanism would deliver.