Payments and held release
Every funded campaign on SwayQ is backed by real money before any work starts. This page explains how the money moves, in plain language.
How are campaigns funded?
Before a campaign goes live for creators, the brand pays the full campaign budget through Stripe, our payment partner. No campaign reaches a creator's queue without the money already committed. This is a hard rule: it means a creator who accepts a campaign on SwayQ never has to wonder whether the budget actually exists.
What is held release?
After the brand funds the campaign, the money is held by Stripe in regulated accounts until the work is delivered and approved. SwayQ never holds the funds; we instruct the release, Stripe executes it. We call this held release: the money is committed at the start and released per milestone as deliverables are approved. Each deliverable in a deal has its own milestone, so multi-deliverable collaborations pay out step by step rather than in one end-of-campaign lump.
When do creators get paid?
A milestone is released when the brand approves the matching deliverable. On top of that sits a creator-protective safeguard: when a creator submits a deliverable, a 7-calendar-day clock starts (weekend-safe, so a deadline never silently lands on a Sunday). If the brand neither approves nor disputes within that window, the payment releases automatically. Approval is the normal path; the auto-release means a silent brand can never hold a creator's money hostage.
What does SwayQ charge?
SwayQ earns a platform fee on funded campaigns. The fee is visible before anything is confirmed: the brand sees the creator rate and the fee as separate lines at checkout, and the fee is paid by the brand on top of the agreed rate. The amount a creator agrees to is the amount the creator receives at milestone release. There are no subscriptions and no charges for joining, building a profile, or being matched.
How do creators receive payouts?
Creators complete a one-time Stripe onboarding: identity verification and a bank account connection, handled by Stripe's hosted flow. SwayQ never sees or stores your banking credentials. Once onboarded, milestone releases transfer to your Stripe balance and pay out to your bank account.
What happens if there is a dispute?
If a brand believes a deliverable does not match what was agreed, they can dispute it within the review window instead of approving. A dispute pauses that milestone's release while it is resolved. Every step of every deal on SwayQ is recorded in an append-only event log, so there is never an argument about who said what when. The SwayQ team assists with resolution; the funded budget stays safely held by Stripe in the meantime.