Define the payment and payout layer: rails (Stripe/etc.), whether Credits convert to fiat, payout thresholds and cadence, tax handling for global contributors, and dispute/fraud processes — the infrastructure that makes the economic framework real.
Why this matters
The economic framework (Layer 11), ad sovereignty (Entry 005), and roadmap credits (Entry 016) all assume money can reach contributors; no entry specifies how. Open decisions:
- Rails — processor choice for payouts and any inbound payments (subscriptions, Patron Mode, Franchise-level flows).
- Credit↔fiat boundary — whether Credits/Power ever convert to currency or stay purely in-platform influence (interacts with G-006 economics and the dilution model, Entry 012), and where real money enters instead.
- Payout mechanics — minimum thresholds, cadence (monthly/quarterly), per-contributor vs. per-Franchise distribution (G-038 calibration).
- Tax & compliance — 1099/VAT, international contributors, who bears burden and reporting.
- Disputes & fraud — chargebacks, fraud detection, and how they interact with T&S (G-001) and data portability on departure (G-019).
Related
- Entry 032 — the bridge strategy that surfaces this gap
- Entry 005 — contributor ad sovereignty (Ad-Free vs. Patron Mode)
- Entry 016 — public roadmap & credits (the value being paid)
- G-016 — ad-monetization posture
- G-038 — roadmap surface design & credit calibration
- G-006 — platform economics (distribution formulas)
- G-019 — data portability (departure/payout interaction)