Payment Protection Policy

This policy explains what happens to a Brand's payment on HotInfluencer, from the moment it's paid until it reaches the Influencer or goes back to the Brand. It is part of our Terms of Service. Words like "Deal Terms" have the meaning given there.

The short version

  1. The Brand pays the full deal price up front. We hold it; the Influencer doesn't receive it yet.
  2. The Influencer does the work and submits it.
  3. The Brand approves it, or asks for changes up to the number of revisions in the deal.
  4. If the Brand doesn't respond before the review period ends, the work is approved automatically.
  5. Once approved, we release the payment to the Influencer, minus our platform fee.
  6. If the work isn't delivered on time, the Brand can give more time or cancel for a refund. The Influencer can also cancel and refund the Brand at any time before approval.
  7. If something else goes wrong, either side can open a dispute, and we decide where the money goes. Refunds return the Brand's payment minus Stripe's processing fee.

1. Paying for a deal

The Brand reviews the Deal Terms and the total price (the deal price plus our service fee) and pays by card or bank transfer. All payments are processed by our payment processor, Stripe, Inc. ("Stripe"); card and bank details go directly to Stripe, never to us. Larger deals may be payable by bank transfer only.

  • Card payments are confirmed within seconds.
  • Bank transfers are confirmed when the money arrives in our account, usually within 1–3 business days. The deal starts only after the full amount arrives. If too little arrives, the deal waits for the rest. Any extra is returned to the Brand.

Only payments made through HotInfluencer are protected. Money paid directly to an Influencer, or any other way outside the Service, is not covered by this policy.

2. While the work is in progress

Once a payment is confirmed, the deal shows Funds secured and we tell the Influencer to start. We hold the payment in our Stripe account as the Influencer's payment collection agent. Neither side can withdraw it while the deal is in progress, except as described in section 7.

The Deal Terms set a delivery time: the number of days the Influencer has to deliver, counted from when the Brand's payment is confirmed. That date is the deal's due date, and it's shown to both sides. We remind the Influencer before it.

3. Submitting and reviewing work

The Influencer submits the work by sharing links to the published content (and, where agreed, files). This starts the review period set in the Deal Terms (between 7 and 30 days). We send the Brand reminders before it ends.

During the review period the Brand can:

  • Approve the work. We release the payment.
  • Request changes, as long as the deal still has revisions left. The Brand must say what needs to change, and the request must fit the Deal Terms. The review period stops, and a new full review period starts when the Influencer resubmits.
  • Open a dispute (see section 6). The review period stops.

Draft approval. If the Deal Terms say the Brand approves a draft first, the Influencer sends a draft (files or private links) before posting anything. The Brand approves it or asks for changes; each request for changes uses one of the deal's included revisions. If the Brand doesn't respond within the review period, the draft is approved automatically. While a draft waits for the Brand, the due date is paused. Once a draft is approved, the Influencer posts it and submits the links, and the review above applies to the final post.

To approve, request changes or open a dispute, the Brand confirms a one-time code sent to the email address the deal was sent to. This stops anyone who only has the deal link from releasing money.

4. Automatic approval

If the Brand doesn't approve, request changes or open a dispute before the review period ends, the work is approved automatically, and the payment is released as if the Brand had approved it.

5. Release and payout

After approval, we transfer the deal price, minus our platform fee, to the Influencer's Stripe account. Stripe then pays it to the Influencer's bank account on their Stripe payout schedule.

Releases may wait longer in some cases:

  • New accounts. For a Brand's or Influencer's first deals, we may hold payments for up to 7 days after the Brand pays, even if the work is approved sooner.
  • Reviews. We may hold a release while we check for fraud, a breach of our Terms, or a legal requirement.
  • Payout setup. We can't release a payment until the Influencer has finished setting up payouts with Stripe.
  • Posts no longer available. Before releasing, we check that submitted posts are still public where the platform lets us. If one has been deleted or made private, we hold the release while we review it.
  • Chargebacks. A deal with an open chargeback is frozen (see section 9).

6. Disputes

Either side can open a dispute, for example if the work doesn't match the Deal Terms or was taken down early. Brands can open one from the deal page once work has been submitted; work that wasn't delivered on time is handled as described in section 7. Influencers can open one from the deal page, or object to a late-delivery cancellation there.

When a dispute is opened:

  1. The deal is paused. No money moves.
  2. We ask both sides for their side of the story and any evidence (links, screenshots, messages), which each side gives on the deal page. Each side has 5 business days to respond.
  3. We review the Deal Terms, the submitted work and the evidence, and aim to decide within 10 business days after both sides have responded.

We decide based on what the Deal Terms say was agreed. We don't judge creative taste beyond that. We may:

  • release the full payment to the Influencer;
  • refund the full payment to the Brand; or
  • split it, releasing part to the Influencer and refunding the rest to the Brand.

Our decision is final as to the payment we hold. It doesn't stop either side from taking legal action against the other. Our Dispute Policy explains the process and how we usually decide common cases.

7. Cancelling a deal

  • Before payment, the Influencer can withdraw or cancel the deal at any time, and the Brand can simply not pay. Nothing is charged.
  • The Influencer can cancel a paid deal at any time before the work is approved, from the deal page. The Brand is refunded as described in section 8. This is also how a deal is cancelled when both sides agree.
  • If the due date passes with nothing delivered, the Brand can give the Influencer more time, or ask to cancel. When the Brand asks to cancel, the Influencer has 2 days to either deliver the work (which ends the request; the Brand then reviews it as usual) or object (which opens a dispute, see section 6). If the Influencer does neither, the deal is cancelled and the Brand is refunded automatically.
  • We may cancel a deal as the result of a dispute or a breach of our Terms.

8. Refunds

If a deal is cancelled or a dispute is decided in the Brand's favour before the payment is released, the Brand gets back the amount being refunded plus the matching share of the service fee, minus the matching share of Stripe's payment processing fee. Stripe doesn't return its processing fee when a payment is refunded, so it comes out of the refund.

For example, a Brand pays US$1,040 for a US$1,000 deal and Stripe's processing fee on that payment was US$30.46. If the whole deal is refunded, the Brand gets back US$1,009.54. The processing fee depends on how the Brand paid. It's usually higher for international cards and lower for bank transfers.

How refunds reach the Brand:

  • Card payments go back to the same card, usually within 5–10 business days.
  • US bank transfers. Stripe emails the Brand to collect the bank account to send the money to. The Brand must reply within 45 days. If they don't, we'll contact them to arrange another way to return the money.
  • International wires can't be returned automatically. We'll contact the Brand to arrange the return. The Brand's or intermediary banks may deduct fees.

After a payment is released, it can't be refunded through HotInfluencer, except where the law requires it or in cases of fraud.

9. Chargebacks

If a Brand disputes a card payment with their bank (a chargeback), we freeze the deal: no release, refund or other money movement happens until the chargeback is settled.

  • If the chargeback is decided in our favour, the deal unfreezes and continues.
  • If it isn't, we review the deal. Depending on the circumstances, we may cancel the deal, and we may seek to recover the amount and fees from the party responsible.

Brands agree to raise problems through the dispute process in section 6 before filing a chargeback. If a Brand files a chargeback after approving work, or after the work was delivered as agreed, we may contest it using the deal record. This includes the Deal Terms both sides accepted, the submitted work, approval or review notices, and messages. We may also suspend the Brand's access.

10. Records

To protect both sides, we keep a record of each deal: the Deal Terms each side accepted (with the time, IP address and device), the submitted work, every approval, request and decision, and the messages about the deal. We use these records to decide disputes and respond to chargebacks, as described in our Privacy Policy.

11. Contact

Questions about a payment or a deal: support@hotinfluencer.com