How to Take Commission Payments Without Showing Your Legal Name

Take commission payments as a seller instead of as a person. Peer-to-peer payment apps move money from one person to another, so whoever pays you sees the name on your account, and on Cash App that name always includes your legal last name. On Brillay, a client pays your creator page instead. The name they see at checkout, on their card statement and on their receipt is the public seller name you chose for that page. Your legal name goes to Stripe, which verifies who you are and sends your payouts, and it is not shown to the person paying you.

That is the whole fix. It does not take an LLC, a business bank account or a "doing business as" filing. The rest of this guide covers why the usual apps expose your name, exactly what a client sees when they pay you on Brillay, the one detail most artists miss, and how to open commissions under your artist name in a few minutes.

Why do payment apps show clients your real name?

Peer-to-peer apps were built for paying people you already know, so they label every payment with the account holder. The client is not paying a shop; they are sending money to you, and the app shows them who "you" are.

Cash App states it plainly: "Your profile name is what other people see when they find you or send you money on Cash App. When you sign up, we use your legal first and last name as your profile name," and "Your legal last name is always used as your profile last name" (Cash App, Profile name). So the surname a client sees is your legal one, which is why so many artists who have used Cash App for years suddenly find their full name on a client's screen.

PayPal works on the same principle. Its privacy statement says that, depending on your account settings, "the information shown to other Users may include your username, profile photo, first and last name, email, phone number, city and state" (PayPal Privacy Statement). A business PayPal account can display a business name instead, but to verify a sole proprietor PayPal asks for "your full legal name" and "your home address (not a PO box)", and the business name itself is optional (PayPal, Information required to verify your business). The privacy statement adds that a business profile shows "your name or business name, profile picture or logo, and the city associated with your PayPal account."

Venmo lets you choose a display name, but the same document that allows it describes your profile name as public: it "may be seen by anyone on the internet, whether or not they have a Venmo account" (Venmo Privacy Statement).

None of this is a flaw in those apps. It is what a person-to-person transfer is. The only way to stop showing a person's name is to stop being paid as a person, and to be paid as a seller with a public name of your own.

What does a client actually see when they pay you on Brillay?

A Brillay page is a small storefront in your bio. When a client orders a custom request, they are buying from that storefront, so every place the payment shows up carries the storefront's name, which is the one you set.

Receipts for Brillay orders carry the page's name, not the legal name behind it: a creator whose page name differs from their legal name gets receipts that show only the page name. Stripe describes this field as "the customer-facing business name" (Stripe API, Account object), and Stripe statement descriptors exist to explain a charge on a bank statement using the name the customer knows (Stripe, Statement descriptors).

Before you share your link, open Payments in your Brillay dashboard. The Public seller details card shows your public seller name and the exact bank statement name clients will see, and you can edit the seller name there. Orders that were already placed keep the name they were bought under.

The one detail most artists miss: the email on your account

The receipt a client gets includes an email address they can write to with questions. On Brillay, that address is the email you signed up with.

So if you sign up as firstname.lastname@gmail.com, your client will see firstname.lastname@gmail.com at the bottom of their receipt, right under your artist name. Use an address that doesn't spell out your legal name. A separate inbox for your art is the simplest option, and it keeps client mail out of your personal account too.

Brillay's own signup asks for an email, a password and the handle for your page, and your page name starts out as that handle, so nothing from your legal name is filled in for you. Your legal name is entered only into Stripe's secure form when you connect payouts, never into anything a client can see.

Do you need a DBA, an LLC or a business PayPal account?

No. Showing an artist name to clients is a presentation choice, and a Brillay page lets you make it without filing anything. Stripe verifies you as an individual behind the page, the same way it would for anyone selling under their own name.

A DBA, or "doing business as" name, is often suggested as the fix, but it moves your name somewhere more public, not less. In Los Angeles County, for example, a fictitious business name statement lists "all owners and their business mailing addresses," and a filed copy "must be published once per week for four consecutive weeks in an adjudicated newspaper" (Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Fictitious business names FAQ). Rules vary by state and county, and some places require a DBA before you trade under another name, so check yours. Brillay's own requirements are separate from any filing your local rules ask for.

An LLC is a liability and tax decision, not a privacy tool for commissions. Do I need an LLC to accept follower payments? covers when it is worth the paperwork, and Can you legally use a stage name to accept follower payments? walks through how a public name, a DBA and identity verification fit together.

Where does your legal name still go?

Your legal name doesn't disappear; it goes to the places that legally need it, and none of them is your client.

• Stripe. Like every regulated payment processor, Stripe verifies the person it pays. It collects "information about the person opening the Stripe account (for example, name, date of birth)" (Stripe, Identity verification for connected accounts). That information is used to verify you and send payouts to your bank.
• Tax forms. Commission income is taxable whatever name your page shows. A Form 1099-K, if you receive one, goes to you and the IRS. The 1099-K threshold for creators explains when one is issued.
• Your bank. Payouts land in an account in your name, as they would from any job.

What if a client goes quiet when it's time to pay?

Hiding your name solves one problem; the other one artists bring up in the same breath is the client who agrees on a price, approves the sketch and then disappears. Taking payment through a page solves both at once.

Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start. The client fills in the brief and pays at checkout, so nothing is left to collect when the piece is finished, and there is no invoice with your name on it to send. If a request isn't right for you, you can decline it.

Can clients pay without an account, or from another country?

Yes. Clients pay as guests with a card, and there is no account for them to create. Creators in 41 countries can get paid; followers pay by card from anywhere.

You need to be 18 or older to open a Brillay page and get paid.

How to open commissions under your artist name

1. Sign up with your artist name and a separate email. Use the name your clients already know for your page, and an email that doesn't include your legal name.
2. Add Custom Work. Write what you offer, the price, what's included and how long it takes. Add more than one if you sell headshots, full bodies and reference sheets at different prices.
3. Connect payouts. Stripe's form asks for your legal name, date of birth and bank details. That part is private between you and Stripe.
4. Check your public details. In Payments, confirm the public seller name and the bank statement name clients will see.
5. Share one link. Put it in your bio, and send it to anyone who asks how to commission you.

What does it cost?

No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate.

Frequently asked questions

Will my client ever see my legal name if I use Brillay?

Not on your page, at checkout, on their card statement or on their receipt. All four show the public seller name you chose. Your legal name is used by Stripe to verify you and pay you out, and the one thing to watch is your sign-up email, which appears on the receipt as a contact address.

Can a client find my home address from a commission payment?

Your home address isn't shown on your page, at checkout or on the receipt. Stripe keeps the address you give it for identity verification.

Can I change the name clients see later?

Yes. Edit the public seller name in Payments under Public seller details. New orders use the new name, and orders already placed keep the name they were bought under.

What if my artist name is my real first name?

Then that's what clients see, and nothing more. Whatever you enter as your page name becomes the public seller name, so you decide exactly how much of your real name appears.

Is it legal to sell commissions under an artist name?

Displaying an artist name while a payment processor verifies your legal identity is standard. Some states and counties require a DBA filing before you do business under another name, so check your local rules; Brillay's requirements are separate from those filings.

Do my clients need to download an app or make an account?

No. They open your link, pick the commission, fill in the brief and pay by card as a guest.

Create your free Brillay page under your artist name and send your next client a link instead of your Cash App or PayPal handle. If you also take one-off tips from people who like your work, How to accept tips and donations without showing your legal name covers that side.