Which model fits depends on one question
There are ten models below, and the list can look like a menu of much the same thing. It is not. They differ on a single axis, and it is worth deciding where you sit on it before reading any further:
How much of the customer relationship do you want to own?
Everything else — commercial terms, who provides support, whose brand is on the screen, how much you invest up front — follows from that answer.
| If you want to… | The model is | You own |
|---|---|---|
| Point people our way when it comes up | Referral or Affiliate | Nothing; you introduce |
| Sell it as part of what you already sell | Reseller or Distribution | The sale, not the product |
| Put it inside your own product | Technology partnership or Licensing | The product experience |
| Sell it as your own service | White label | The brand and the relationship |
| Build something neither of us has | Strategic alliance or Joint venture | Shared |
| Reach the same buyers together | Co-marketing | Your own audience |
The three that get confused
Reseller and white label are not the same thing. A reseller sells MemberCheck; the customer knows they are buying MemberCheck, and the platform says so. A white-label partner sells their own service, and the customer may never encounter our name. The second earns more margin and carries more obligation: you become the first line of support, and the compliance conversation with the end customer is yours to have.
Technology partnership and licensing differ on where the software runs. A technology partnership integrates our screening into your product through the API — we run the platform, you call it. Licensing is for cases where that arrangement will not do, usually because of a data-residency or procurement constraint on your side.
Referral and affiliate differ on formality, not on effort. A referral relationship is a trust arrangement between businesses that already talk. An affiliate arrangement is commission against tracked introductions. Consultancies usually want the first; publishers and communities usually want the second.
What we look for
Not volume commitments. The partnerships that work have two things in common:
- You already have the trust. Screening is bought on credibility. A partner whose customers already ask them compliance questions can place this; a partner reaching cold does not have a shortcut.
- You understand the obligation, not just the product. The customer's real question is never "which tool" — it is "will this satisfy my regulator". A partner who can hold that conversation closes; one who can only demo features does not.
What the partner side actually involves
Being honest about the work, because the models above differ enormously in it:
- Referral and affiliate — effectively no build. An introduction and a conversation.
- Reseller and distribution — commercial and support process on your side, and enough product knowledge to qualify an enquiry properly.
- Technology partnership — an integration. Read API and integration first; the decisions that are expensive to change later are listed there.
- White label — the largest commitment. You take on brand, first-line support and the customer relationship. See Compliance as a Business, which is the productised version of this model.
- Strategic alliance and joint venture — a commercial negotiation rather than a programme you join.
Where partners are today
MemberCheck is deployed in Australia, Germany, Oman and Indonesia, with expansion planned into the Americas and South Africa. Partner interest in a market we are not yet in is not a barrier — it is usually the reason a market gets prioritised.
Starting the conversation
If you want the background first, about MemberCheck sets out who builds the platform and how long it has been doing it. Otherwise: there is no application form and no partner tier to qualify for. Contact us with two things: what you sell today, and which of the ten models above you think fits. If you are not sure which, say that — narrowing it down is the first conversation, and getting it wrong at the start is what makes partnerships stall six months later.