Creator Earnings, Settlement & Payout Policy

Cartoix provides two creator earnings models on the Platform:

• Reseller Margin: Calculated as the custom profit markup added by the studio partner over the base supplier cost of each item (Retail Price minus Base Supplier Cost and transaction processing fees).

• Affiliate Commission: Calculated as a percentage of the total customer purchase price (excluding shipping, sales taxes, and payment processor surcharges).

Earnings under both models are recorded automatically upon customer order completion.

All recorded earnings initially enter a Pending Earnings status upon transaction completion.

A standard 7-day operational Settlement Period applies to all creator and affiliate earnings, calculated from the exact timestamp of the customer transaction or order completion.

Clarification of Legal Nature: The 7-day Settlement Period is an operational release, accounting, and risk management mechanism. It must NOT be described, interpreted, or construed as a "legal escrow" account or a regulated stored-value wallet.

Earnings transition from Pending Earnings to Available Earnings (eligible for Payout) once all of the following release conditions are satisfied:

1. Expiration of the standard 7-day operational Settlement Period from the transaction date.

2. Account status is active and in good standing with completed identity compliance and tax documentation (Form W-9 or Form W-8BEN).

3. Completion of creator onboarding and account verification on Stripe Connect.

4. Absence of active Payout Holds, fraud reviews, or unresolved dispute reserves on the account.

Release of cleared earnings occurs automatically via scheduled system batching routines or administrative approval.

Stripe Connect serves as the primary payout infrastructure for the Cartoix platform.

Payouts of Available Earnings are transferred directly into the creator's connected bank account through Stripe's integrated financial infrastructure.

To receive Payouts, creators must complete payout-account onboarding via Stripe Connect, submitting valid identity credentials, business information, tax identifiers, and bank account details.

Creators agree to comply with Stripe's Connected Account Agreement and applicable payment-provider requirements.

Payout availability, supported payout channels, and onboarding requirements vary depending on the creator's country of residence and payment provider capabilities.

Creators can submit Payout requests for Available Earnings once their balance reaches the minimum threshold of $50.00 USD (or local currency equivalent).

The maximum single transaction Payout limit is $10,000.00 USD.

A 24-hour request cooldown applies between consecutive manual withdrawal requests to prevent automated or abusive payout attempts.

Once a Payout request is approved and initiated through Stripe Connect, standard bank processing typically takes 1 to 5 business days, depending on the creator's geographic region, payment provider, and destination financial institution.

Delivery Disclaimer: Cartoix does not guarantee an exact bank-arrival date because payment providers and receiving financial institutions may require additional processing, clearing, or compliance verification time.

If a Payout fails due to incorrect bank routing numbers, account closures, or recipient bank rejections, the returned funds (minus any non-refundable third-party bank processing fees) will be re-credited to the creator's Available Earnings balance.

Security Hold: Updating your linked bank account details or modifying payout configurations triggers a mandatory 72-hour security Payout Hold to protect creator funds against unauthorized transfers.

If a customer order is refunded or cancelled while creator earnings remain in Pending Earnings status, the corresponding pending commission will be cancelled or reversed immediately.

If a customer files a credit card dispute or chargeback before Payout release, the associated Pending Earnings will be frozen under a Payout Hold until the bank or payment provider settles the dispute.

If a refund, return, or chargeback occurs after a creator has already received a Payout for that order, Cartoix reserves the right to apply a post-payout balance adjustment.

Post-payout adjustments will be deducted or offset against the creator's future Available Earnings balance. Where legally and contractually permitted, Cartoix reserves the right to pursue recovery of uncollected dispute balances.

Cartoix reserves the right to place a temporary Payout Hold or establish a rolling risk reserve on creator accounts for legitimate operational reasons.

Reasons for Payout Holds or reserves include: abnormally high refund or cancellation rates, sudden customer chargeback claims, copyright or trademark disputes, identity verification audits, compliance reviews, or payment-provider restrictions.

Geographic Availability: Payout options, currency availability, and cross-border capabilities vary by country. Cartoix reserves the right to restrict Payout methods or creator participation in jurisdictions where payment-provider or regulatory requirements cannot be satisfied.

Applicable Fees: Third-party payout transaction fees and wholesale currency conversion rates applied by payment providers apply to cross-border or multi-currency transfers.

Tax Responsibilities: Creators are solely responsible for reporting and paying all applicable local, state, federal, and international taxes. Cartoix issues annual tax reporting forms (such as Form 1099 or Form 1042-S) as required by U.S. tax laws.