Payout Terms

These are the published payout terms referred to in section 6 of the Creator Agreement. They explain how the amount a fan pays becomes the amount that reaches you, when it is paid, and the limited circumstances in which it is held, reversed, or forfeited. They form part of the Creator Agreement; capitalized terms have the meaning given there.

1. How a payment is split

Two fees come off every payment. Both are calculated on the full amount the fan paid, not on each other:

• Payment processing fee — the cost of moving the money.
• Platform fee — Tinglebay's share, which depends on the revenue type and on your individual agreement.

What remains is your earnings, credited to your balance. So on a $100 card sale at a 4% platform fee: $100 − $4.20 processing − $4.00 platform fee = $91.80. A PayPal payment works the same way, with PayPal's own fee in place of the $4.20.

Your payout receipt itemizes all three figures for every payout, so you can reconcile any number back to the payments behind it.

2. Payment processing fees

A processing fee applies to each successful payment. It is charged on the full amount the fan paid, including any tax collected, and applies to every revenue type, including tips. How much it is depends on how the fan chose to pay:

• PayPal — the fee PayPal charged on that transaction, passed through as billed. PayPal charges more when a payment is funded from outside the United States, so this varies from one payment to the next.
• Any other payment method — a stated rate of 3.9% + $0.30, the same for every payment regardless of size.

Whether this fee is deducted from your earnings or absorbed by Tinglebay depends on your individual agreement. Your current setting is shown in your creator dashboard.

The 3.9% + $0.30 is a stated rate for payment processing on Tinglebay. It is not a pass-through of any particular processor's charges, and it may be more or less than what Tinglebay pays on a given transaction. We may change this rate with notice under section 10. The PayPal figure is not a stated rate: it is what PayPal charged, and your payout receipt itemizes it per payment.

3. Platform fees

Platform fees vary by revenue type and by creator. Tips carry no platform fee. Rates for subscriptions, shop sales, and custom orders are set in your individual agreement and shown in your creator dashboard.

Revenue from platform-wide all-access subscriptions is Tinglebay's and is not shared with creators. Creators earn from their own subscription tiers, tips, shop sales, and custom orders.

Creators on a managed arrangement are paid fixed rates for the content they produce, set out separately in writing, in place of a share of subscription revenue. They receive the standard splits described above on custom orders, shop sales, and tips.

4. Payment holds

Earnings are held for a period after payment before becoming eligible for payout. This protects against chargebacks and fraudulent payments. The standard hold is 30 days; your hold period is shown in your creator dashboard and may differ by agreement.

Earnings from custom orders become eligible when the order is marked complete and the hold period has elapsed, whichever is later.

Separately from the standard hold, we may place all or part of your balance on an investigation hold under section 6.3 of the Creator Agreement where we reasonably suspect fraud, chargeback abuse, self-funded purchases, or a violation, or where we receive a complaint or a lawful request. The hold lasts as long as is reasonably necessary. We will tell you when a hold is in place and give you a status update at least every 30 days until it is released or resolved, unless law or a lawful request prevents it.

5. Conditions to payout

We pay eligible earnings provided that, at the time of the payout:

• your identity verification is complete and has not been revoked;
• valid payout details and any tax documentation we have requested (such as an IRS Form W-9 or W-8) are on file;
• your account is not suspended and the earnings are not under an investigation hold;
• the hold period in section 4 has elapsed; and
• the payout is not prohibited by law, sanctions, a court order, or a lawful request from a regulator or payment partner.

If a condition is not met, the payout is deferred, not forfeited. Deferred earnings stay on your balance and are paid on the next scheduled payout after the condition is satisfied.

6. Payout schedule and method

Eligible earnings are paid on the payout dates shown in your creator dashboard, to the payout method on file. Your schedule is set in your individual agreement. We initiate each payout within 5 business days after the scheduled date; how long the funds then take to arrive depends on your bank or payout provider.

We support the payout methods and countries listed in your dashboard at the time of payout, and may add or withdraw methods or countries with notice. Fees charged by your bank or payout provider, and any currency conversion, are your responsibility. Earnings are calculated and paid in United States dollars, and no interest accrues on any balance.

The minimum payout is $50. An eligible balance below $50 rolls forward to the next scheduled payout on which it is met. We may change the minimum with notice under section 10.

7. Refunds, chargebacks & adjustments

If a payment is refunded, voided, or charged back, the corresponding earnings are reversed. Where the earnings have not yet been paid out, the reversal is applied to your balance; where they have, it is applied against future earnings.

We may refund a fan under the refund policy in the Terms without your consent and are not required to consult you before doing so. The reversal appears on your payout receipt.

Processing fees on a reversed payment are generally not returned by the processor and are not restored to your balance.

We may set off against your balance any other amount you owe us under the Creator Agreement. If your balance is negative after a set-off and no further earnings are expected, we may invoice you for the shortfall.

8. Forfeiture

Earnings are forfeited only in the cases listed in section 6.5 of the Creator Agreement: earnings from a payment we reasonably determine was fraudulent, unauthorized, or self-funded; earnings tied to content or conduct that materially breaches the Creator Agreement or the Terms, to the extent of the earnings tied to it; and the entire balance where an account is terminated for content or conduct involving minors, non-consensual content, trafficking or exploitation, or fraud.

Earnings are never forfeited merely because a payout condition was unmet, because an account was closed, or because a fee or policy changed.

9. Termination, errors, and disputes

If your Creator Agreement ends for any reason, earnings that are not forfeited remain payable. We may hold the final balance for up to 120 days after termination to cover refunds and chargebacks, then pay the remainder on the next scheduled payout, subject to section 5.

If you believe a payout or your balance is wrong, tell us at compliance@tinglebay.com within 60 days of the payout date. We may correct errors in either direction, including by adjusting a later payout. A payout not disputed within 60 days is treated as accepted, except in cases of fraud or an error we caused and later discover.

10. Changes

We may update these terms. We will give at least 14 days' notice of a material change by email or a notice in your creator dashboard, except for changes required by law, by a payment partner, or to address safety or fraud, which may take effect immediately on notice. Changes to fee rates apply to payments received after the change takes effect; they are not applied retroactively to payments already recorded.