Disputes & Payments

Pilot payments run on Stripe Connect in test mode only. No real money can move: the code refuses live Stripe keys. Do not run real paid work through the platform during the pilot.

1. A studio posts a bounty and funds it through Stripe Checkout.
2. The payment is held under platform management while work happens.
3. Creators may start work only after the bounty is funded — never on a promise.
4. When the studio approves (or a dispute resolves in the creator’s favor), the payment is released and the final files unlock.

We deliberately say “funded bounty”, “held payment”, and “platform-managed release” — not “escrow”. Stripe does not provide escrow accounts, and BountySmith is not a licensed escrow service. The funded-bounty workflow is escrow-like, and it requires legal review before any real-money launch.

While a bounty is in progress, the studio evaluates work through previews in the vault. The final deliverable files stay locked — no viewing or downloading — until payment is released.

When a creator delivers, the studio has exactly three options — and they mean different things:

• Request revisions. Normal feedback. The payment stays held and the creator keeps working. This is not a dispute.
• Open a dispute. For when feedback has broken down. Disputes are allowed only while the payment is funded and held, after work has been delivered, and before approval.
• Approve & release. The payment goes to the creator, the finals unlock — and the decision is final.

An admin reviews the dispute and picks one of three outcomes:

• Release to the creator — payment goes out and the final files unlock for the studio.
• Refund the studio — the held payment is returned and the final files stay locked.
• Dismiss — the dispute is closed and work resumes where it left off.

Once payment is released, there are no clawbacks: the studio keeps the finals and the creator keeps the payment. And if a studio takes no action on a delivered submission, it auto-approves after 7 days — review delivered work promptly.

A platform fee — currently 10% — is charged to the studio on top of the creator payout. So the creator receives the full bounty amount, and the studio pays bounty + fee. Stripe processing fees are absorbed by the platform during the pilot.

A card dispute (chargeback) goes through Stripe and the cardholder’s bank under card-network rules. That process is separate from BountySmith’s dispute process described above, and we don’t control its outcome.

Payment or dispute questions: 2017harrisonwells@gmail.com — see the contact page.