Core concept
How money flows
Every payment on StayLocalX moves the same way. The advertiser pays once, Stripe splits the payment in real time, the owner receives 70% in their connected Stripe account, and the platform keeps 30% as a service fee. The platform never holds funds belonging to owners.
The flow at a glance
Why this matters legally
Because the 70% never sits in G-HAT LLC's bank account, the platform is not acting as a money transmitter or payment institution under PSD2 / EU regulation. Stripe Connect handles the segregation on its own books — the platform is simply a marketplace facilitator with revenue-sharing built in.
Step by step
1. Advertiser checks out
An advertiser picks a slot on a property and starts a Stripe Checkout session. Stripe Tax detects their country and either adds VAT to the price (consumer) or applies reverse charge with €0 tax (B2B with valid VAT ID).
2. Stripe splits the payment
On a successful charge, Stripe automatically transfers 70% of the net amount to the owner's connected Stripe account, and keeps 30% as the platform application fee. This happens in the same transaction — no manual transfers, no batch jobs.
3. Funds sit in segregated balances
Until the next monthly payout, the 70% sits in the owner's connected account balance and the 30% sits in the platform balance. Both balances live inside Stripe's systems.
4. Monthly payouts
On the 1st of each month at 04:00 UTC, an automatic job:
- Generates a self-billed invoice for each owner covering their previous month's earnings
- Stores the PDF in the owner's document area
- Emails the owner with the invoice and a download link
- Stripe pays out the owner's balance to their bank account on its standard schedule
The lifecycle of one €100 slot
What about coupon commissions?
On top of the slot fee, advertisers also pay a small commission per coupon redemption (€1 for restaurants, €3 for services, €5 for activities by default). These commissions are added as line items to the advertiser's next monthly Stripe invoice. Because the invoice is on the same subscription that carries the slot fee, Stripe Connect's destination charges automatically apply the same 70/30 split to the entire amount when the advertiser pays.
Owner share of coupon commissions
Owners receive 70% of coupon commissions, exactly like slot fees. They're not paid separately — they're bundled into your single monthly payout on the 1st of each month alongside the slot fees, in one bank transfer.
Who issues which invoice?
Read more in the Reseller model page if you want the full legal explanation.