Partner Federation Glossary — last updated September 2026
Sub-Affiliate is a partner recruited and managed by another, larger affiliate — a “master” affiliate or sub-affiliate network — rather than being signed up directly with the broker. The master affiliate becomes the affiliate of record: it handles the tracking links, reporting, and payment, then passes a share of the commission down to each sub-affiliate for the traffic or clients they bring in.
Why It Matters for Partners
This is functionally the same override structure as Master IB / Sub-IB, just under affiliate/CPA terminology instead of IB terminology. The tradeoff is the same too: a sub-affiliate can often get access to an affiliate program — sometimes with better terms — that it wouldn’t qualify for directly, in exchange for less visibility into the underlying broker relationship and a cut of every payout going to the master affiliate above it.