A follower's card is charged in real time when they pay, Brillay's platform fee (8% when a follower pays for work, 5% on tips and goals) is deducted from that sale immediately, and the remaining balance sits in a brief settlement window (about two business days for eligible US accounts) before it becomes payable — after which it goes out on the creator's regular Stripe payout schedule, typically arriving in the bank one to two business days later. Tips let followers send a one-time thank-you, with nothing for you to deliver and no membership for them to join.
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. pricing
Creators used to platforms with vague "funds pending" screens often assume there is a hidden holding period before a sale becomes real money. Followers pay upfront; you can decline a request.
What happens the instant a follower pays?
When a follower taps pay on your Brillay page, they pay upfront. You do not have to wait for a separate approval step before the sale counts. Stripe's PaymentIntents API defaults to automatic payment collection, taking payment as soon as the payment succeeds (Stripe PaymentIntents API reference). Tips and Goals are paid immediately; followers pay upfront for Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, and Custom Work and you deliver later.
"automatic: Payment is collected immediately after successful card approval. This is the default behavior if the field is omitted." — Stripe, PaymentIntents API reference
When does Brillay's platform fee get taken out?
Brillay's platform fee comes out of the sale at the moment the follower pays, not later at payout (how Brillay works). Separately, Stripe takes its own card-processing fee, published as 2.9% + 30¢ per successful online card transaction for US accounts. What remains after Brillay's platform fee and Stripe's processing fee is the amount that continues on to settlement.
How long until the money is actually usable?
Net proceeds sit in a pending Stripe balance for a short settlement window before Stripe marks them available for payout. For an eligible US account, Stripe's documentation puts that window at two business days from the original charge, so a card charged on Monday becomes available on Wednesday (Stripe balances and settlement time).
Stripe's own worked example states that "if a customer makes a 100 USD card payment on Monday in the US, the funds are initially pending. Then the funds are available in your balance on Wednesday, 2 business days later" (Stripe balances and settlement time). This timing applies to your Stripe account no matter which Brillay offer the sale came from, and Stripe says timing can vary by country, industry, and account risk profile.
"Choosing a payout schedule doesn't change how long it takes for your pending balance to become available. It only controls when payouts are sent." — Stripe, "Receive payouts"
When does Brillay actually send the money to the bank?
Once a sale's proceeds move from pending to available, they are swept into the creator's next scheduled Stripe payout rather than sent as an individual transfer for that one sale. Standard payouts to a connected account typically take 1–2 business days to arrive for eligible US accounts once initiated (Stripe Connect payouts).
The recurring cadence itself — daily, weekly, or monthly — is covered in how often Brillay payouts are sent. The final bank-side leg rides the ACH network, where Nacha estimates that approximately 80% of all ACH payments settle in one banking day or less (Nacha, "How ACH Payments Work"). US banks are also required to make funds received by electronic payment available for withdrawal no later than the business day after the banking day on which the funds are received, under 12 CFR 229.10(b) (eCFR, 12 CFR Part 229).
Does the type of offer a follower buys change the timeline?
No—the settlement and payout timing is the same no matter which offer it was. Tips and Goals are paid immediately, while followers pay upfront for Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, and Custom Work and you deliver later.
Creators can still decline and refund a Personalized Video or custom request that falls outside scope; a refund is a separate transaction that reverses the sale rather than something that delays the original payout timing, and the same logic covers whether a refund is still possible once a custom video has already been delivered. The same is true if a follower simply goes quiet after paying — that doesn't delay the payout either, as covered in what happens if a follower never responds after paying.
| Step | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Follower pays | Card charged | Real time |
| Fee deducted | Brillay's platform fee comes out: 8% when a follower pays for work, 5% on tips and goals | Immediate, at time of payment |
| Settlement | Net proceeds move from pending to available balance | ~2 business days (US) |
| Payout sent | Available balance goes out on the payout schedule | Per schedule — see payout cadence |
| Bank arrival | Funds reach the connected bank account | ~1–2 business days after payout is sent |
Why can a creator's first payout take 7–14 days?
A brand-new connected Stripe account goes through a one-time review of the account and its first transaction activity before that first payout is sent, which is why a first payout runs longer than the routine settlement-plus-transfer window. Stripe states that it "typically schedules your initial payout to complete within 7–14 days".
That review happens once and is tied to the Stripe account itself rather than to any individual Brillay sale, so a creator's second and later payouts are not held to the same longer window. Stripe adds that an initial payout "can take longer depending on your industry, country of operation, and risk level" — the kind of account-level scrutiny that's a separate matter from which legal paperwork a solo creator actually needs to have in place before selling.
Can a creator speed up when the money lands?
Yes—Instant Payouts move an already-available balance to a debit card in minutes instead of waiting for the standard payout schedule Stripe set for your account and country.
Instant Payouts changes how quickly an already-available balance reaches a card; it does not skip the settlement window, because Stripe still needs the funds to clear into the available balance first. A single US Instant Payout must be between 0.50 USD and 9,999 USD (Stripe Instant Payouts). The full eligibility rules and cost trade-off are covered in instant payouts vs. standard payouts.
| Payout route | Speed once the balance is available | Extra cost to the creator | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard payout (default) | ~1–2 business days to a US bank account | None from Stripe or Brillay | Predictable income a creator can wait a day or two for |
| Instant Payout to a debit card | Minutes, including weekends | 1.5% in US/AU/NZ/AE; 1% in CA/EU/UK/SG/NO/HK/MY | An urgent, one-off cash need |
| First payout on a new account | 7–14 days from account connection | None | Unavoidable one-time Stripe account review |
What can push a payout later than the typical window?
Outdated bank details, a paused or under-review Stripe account, and bank-side factors such as weekends and public holidays can each add days beyond the typical two-business-day settlement plus one-to-two-business-day transfer. None of those delays are imposed by Brillay — each is a standard condition on the Stripe account a creator connects during onboarding, which is a separate question from whether that creator needs a registered DBA for the name on the account.
Payout speeds also differ outside the United States: Stripe notes that payout timing "can take longer depending on your industry, country of operation, and risk level," so the two-business-day figure should be read as the eligible-US-account case rather than a global rule. The mechanics of the transfer itself, including what to do when a payout does not arrive as expected, are covered in how direct-to-bank payouts work for creators.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Brillay payment timing, answered in short: the platform fee set out above applies the same way, the money usually becomes available after about two business days for an eligible US account, the first time Stripe pays you can take 7–14 days, and replying to a follower or delivering a Personalized Video does not change when the money moves.
Is the money in a creator's account the second a follower pays?
Followers pay upfront, and the platform fee already set out on this page comes out immediately. The rest usually becomes available after about two business days for an eligible US account before Stripe can pay it out.
Does waiting to reply to a Paid Question delay the payout?
No. Followers pay for a Paid Question upfront when they submit it, so the settlement clock starts at that moment, not when you reply. Answering sooner doesn't speed the money along, and taking the full window you set doesn't slow it down.
Why did the first payout take much longer than later ones?
New connected Stripe accounts go through a one-time review of the account and its first transaction activity, and Stripe typically schedules that initial payout to complete within 7–14 days; payouts after the review follow the account's regular, shorter schedule.
Does Brillay charge anything extra for this process?
No. The only fee Brillay takes is the platform fee already set out on this page, separate from Stripe's own cut. Brillay is free to start, with no monthly fee, and Stripe handles moving the money to your bank at no extra platform cost.
Keep reading
New in the library
Ready to get paid for the interactions you already get?
Create your free Brillay link