Also known as: NDA, Confidentiality Agreement
A Non-Disclosure Agreement is a contract that legally binds the parties to keep shared information confidential. In partnerships it protects sensitive commercial data such as negotiated CPA rates, client volumes, and the broker's internal payout economics.
Payout rates and client volumes are competitive intelligence. A Non-Disclosure Agreement makes their confidentiality legally enforceable, so a broker can share its rate card, A-book/B-book split logic and payout economics with a prospective partner, and the partner can share its traffic sources and client numbers, without either fearing leakage to competitors.
The structure matters as much as the existence of the NDA. A mutual (two-way) NDA binds both sides equally, protecting the partner's traffic sources just as it protects the broker's rates. A one-sided NDA only gags the partner, leaving the broker free to discuss the partner's business elsewhere. The obligation is time-bound: confidentiality typically survives for a defined number of years after the partnership ends, a term stated explicitly in the agreement.
Choose a mutual NDA over a one-sided one where possible.
Specify what is covered: rates, volumes, sources, payout economics.
State how many years confidentiality lasts after the relationship ends.
Execute the NDA before any sensitive data changes hands.
Share rate cards, volumes and traffic details under the protection.
Why it matters for partnership: Payout rates are competitive intelligence. An NDA stops a partner from broadcasting the exact deal they got, which would let other partners demand the same, and stops the broker from leaking a partner's traffic sources and client numbers.
Before a broker shares its top-tier rate card and A-book/B-book split logic with a prospective master partner, both sign a mutual NDA so neither can disclose the other's numbers to competitors.
| Aspect | Mutual NDA | One-Way NDA |
|---|---|---|
| Who is bound | Both parties | Only one party (usually you) |
| Protects | Your sources and the broker's rates | The broker's rates only |
| Best for | Balanced partner negotiations | One party disclosing only |
Prefer a mutual (two-way) NDA so the confidentiality obligation protects your traffic sources as much as it protects the broker's rates.
Signing a one-sided NDA that gags you about the deal while leaving the broker free to discuss your business with others.
Typically the confidentiality obligation survives for a set number of years after the partnership ends, stated in the agreement.