Payouts

This guide covers everything about getting paid: setting up your payout method, understanding the payout schedule, dealing with failed payouts, and handling tax forms.

Getting paid — the overview

Once your commissions clear (after the 30-day holding period), they're eligible for payout. Payouts are sent through our secure payment partner directly to your bank account.

The flow looks like this:

1. Commissions clear — they move from pending to cleared in your dashboard.
2. Cleared balance accumulates — until it reaches the minimum payout threshold.
3. A payout batch is built — including your cleared commissions.
4. An admin reviews and approves the batch — a deliberate safety step that catches mistakes before money moves.
5. Funds are sent — they typically arrive within a few business days, depending on your bank.

You can see the status of your next payout, and the history of past payouts, on /affiliate/payouts.

Setting up your payout method

Until your payout method is set up and verified, your cleared commissions wait — they don't disappear, but they don't pay out either. Set this up early so you don't get a backlog.

Step by step

1. Go to Settings → Payout methods (/affiliate/settings/payout-methods) in the affiliate portal.
2. Click Set up payouts.
3. You'll be sent through a secure onboarding flow with our payment partner.
4. They'll ask you for:
   • Identity information — name, address, date of birth, government ID number (this is required by law for the partner to send you money)
   • Bank account details — for direct deposits to your account
   • Business details if you're operating as a business, or personal details if you're an individual
5. The partner verifies your information and links your bank account.
6. You're returned to MoonFactory's portal with payouts enabled.

Initiating this flow is treated as a sensitive operation, so you'll be asked for a fresh six-digit code from your authenticator app before you can begin. Same goes for any later changes to your payout method.

What if I'm outside the US?

The default payout method is supported in many countries, but not all. If your country isn't supported, email hello@moonfactory.dev — we offer alternative methods (PayPal, ACH, wire, manual) on a case-by-case basis. Manual methods take longer to process but they're available.

Payout schedule

Payout batches run on a regular schedule. Cleared commissions roll into the next available batch.

Minimum payout threshold

There's a minimum cleared balance you need to reach before a payout is sent. This exists so small balances don't get eaten by transfer fees — sending you $5 doesn't make sense if the bank takes $3 of it.

If your cleared balance is below the threshold, it stays in the cleared bucket and rolls into the next batch when more clearance arrives. You don't lose anything; it just waits.

The exact current threshold is shown on your Payouts page. It's set in USD, with cleared commissions in other currencies converted at the FX rate at the time the commission accrued.

Why every payout waits for approval

Each payout batch is reviewed and approved by an admin before transfers run. This is a deliberate safety step — it catches fraud signals, accounting errors, and reconciliation issues before money moves rather than after.

If a batch seems delayed, it's usually either waiting for review or paused on a signal that needs human attention. If it's been more than a few business days since clearance and you're still not seeing a payout, email us.

Payout statuses

You'll see one of these statuses on each payout in your history:

Pending

The payout has been created in a batch but hasn't been processed yet. It's waiting for admin approval, scheduling, or batch execution.

What to do: Nothing — this is normal. Pending payouts move to processing within the normal cycle.

Processing

The payout has been approved and submitted to our payment partner. Funds are in motion but haven't landed yet.

What to do: Wait for it to land — typically a few business days, depending on your bank's processing time.

Completed

The payout was successfully sent to your account.

What to do: Check your bank account. If you don't see the deposit within five business days of completion, contact your bank first (sometimes the deposit is held for review on their end), then email us if it doesn't appear.

Failed

Something went wrong — the bank rejected the transfer, our payment partner needs additional verification, or the transfer was returned.

What to do: Check your email for any messages from our payment partner about additional verification. Then go to Settings → Payout methods to confirm your bank details are still current. The funds aren't lost — they're returned to your cleared balance and re-included in the next batch once the issue is resolved.

Returned

The transfer was sent successfully but bounced back from your bank (closed account, wrong details, transfer caps, etc.).

What to do: Update your bank details in Settings → Payout methods. The funds are returned to your cleared balance.

Tax information

The US Internal Revenue Service requires us to report payments over a certain threshold to affiliates. This means we need tax information from you before payouts continue past that point.

Why we need it

US tax law requires payment reporting for any non-employee who earns $600 or more in a calendar year. We file an IRS Form 1099-NEC for each US affiliate who hits that threshold.

For non-US affiliates, we don't file 1099s, but we still need a tax form on file (a W-8BEN) to confirm you're outside the US for tax purposes.

Submitting your tax form

Go to Settings → Tax forms (/affiliate/settings/tax-forms) and upload the form that applies to you:

• W-9 — if you're a US person (citizen, resident, or US-based business)
• W-8BEN — if you're an individual outside the US
• W-8BEN-E — if you're a non-US business or entity

The portal accepts a PDF upload of the completed form. If you don't have the form, the IRS publishes them for free at irs.gov.

Submitting your tax form is treated as a sensitive action, so you'll be prompted for a fresh six-digit code from your authenticator app.

Entering your TIN

Your tax identification number (Social Security Number, Employer Identification Number, or international equivalent) is collected as part of the form and stored securely. It's encrypted at rest and only the last four digits are visible to admins for reference.

Entering your TIN requires a fresh security verification — the same six-digit code from your authenticator app. This protects your most sensitive identity data from being captured by anyone who might briefly have access to your session.

When forms expire

W-9 forms don't expire under normal circumstances, but if your information changes (legal name change, change of business structure), you'll need to submit a new one.

W-8 forms expire every three years. The portal will warn you ahead of expiry so you can submit a fresh form without your payouts pausing.

1099-NEC delivery

Each January, for the previous calendar year, we generate a Form 1099-NEC for every US affiliate whose paid commissions exceeded the $600 reporting threshold. You'll get an email when yours is ready, and you can download it any time from your Tax forms page.

For international affiliates with a W-8BEN on file, no 1099 is generated — that form is for US tax reporting only. Whether you owe taxes on your MoonFactory commissions in your own country depends on your country's rules, and that's something to discuss with a local tax professional.

We can't give personal tax advice. If you have questions about your specific tax situation, talk to an accountant or tax professional who knows your jurisdiction.

Payout history

Your full payout history lives at /affiliate/payouts. Each entry shows:

• Batch reference — the internal payout batch this was part of
• Date — when the payout completed (or its current status, for in-flight payouts)
• Gross amount — the total commissions in the payout
• Fee amount — any transfer fees deducted (typically zero or small for standard methods)
• Net amount — what actually landed in your account
• Currency — the payout currency
• Status — the current status (see the Payout statuses section above)

You can also click into any payout to see the individual commissions that made it up — useful for reconciliation against your own records or your accountant's statements.

Where to go next

• Security guide — what's required for sensitive payout actions
• FTC compliance guide — staying onside of the disclosure rules
• FAQ — common payout questions

Need help? Email us at hello@moonfactory.dev or open a support request from your dashboard.