What the client pays
When a client pays for a session or event, Timefolk collects the payment as the Expert's limited payment collection agent. A payment received by Timefolk counts as payment to the Expert, so the client's debt to the Expert is settled the moment we receive it. Payments are processed by Stripe and our other licensed payment providers. Payouts are sent into the Expert's own Stripe account through Stripe Connect where it is available. Where it is not, they may be sent from Timefolk's own Stripe account by Stripe to a bank account or USDC wallet, by Timefolk from its own account by bank transfer, UPI, PayPal or mobile money, or in USDT through NOWPayments where that is enabled. In every case, what is paid out is earnings we collected on the Expert's behalf.
The session fee is the Expert's rate for the length scheduled. You see the full breakdown, including any taxes and fees, before you pay.
Timefolk's service fee is added at checkout and shown as its own line. It is our fee for the marketplace: scheduling, identity checks, payment collection, safety tools and support, and it also covers what the payment providers charge us, so nothing more is added for that. It is the same whichever way you pay: no separate charge is added for using a card or any other payment method. Timefolk Pro (and Timefolk Plus, for members who already have it) waives Timefolk's own part of it; the part that covers payment costs, the same however you pay, is then shown as its own line.
You pay when you schedule, and your expert has 15 minutes to confirm. When a session has to wait longer for the Expert's answer, for example because you are scheduling from another country or your Expert is finishing their ID check, a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Link payment is usually held on your card rather than taken: it is taken when the Expert accepts, and released if they decline or do not answer in time. Any other payment is taken when you schedule and refunded in full if the Expert declines or does not answer in time. Nothing else is charged later unless you ask for it, such as extra time.
You are never expected to pay for your expert's food or drink. Everyone pays their own way at the venue.
What the expert earns
Experts set their own session fee within a published band for their city.
The expert receives 80% of the session fee. Timefolk charges a 20% Timefolk fee on that session fee as an intermediation fee for operating the marketplace, verification, payments, and safety operations. Timefolk may offer a lower Timefolk fee, for example a limited-time rate for Founding Experts, or points off for running sessions regularly. Any such rate is shown on the Expert page and in the app, and the rate recorded when a session is scheduled is the one that applies to that session.
Payment costs are covered by Timefolk's service fee, which the client pays on top of the expert's session fee at checkout. They are never deducted from the expert's share, so the figure an expert is shown is the figure an expert receives.
Timefolk adds no fee of its own when you withdraw your earnings; you pay only the payment provider's withdrawal cost of 1.5% of the amount withdrawn (Stripe, bank or PayPal charges, which Timefolk does not carry). Both are named separately on the payout so you can check each one. Neither is taken from a session until you withdraw.
Tips are optional, can only be given after a session, and go 100% to the expert.
Currency
Every session settles in the currency of the Expert's city. That is what the expert is paid in and what the session fee band is set in.
You are quoted and charged in your own currency where we support it. The exchange rate is fixed at the moment you schedule, so the amount you are charged and any refund both use the rate you agreed to.
Payouts
Expert earnings are released after the session is completed, the dispute window has closed, and a verification re-check has passed.
If you are paid through Stripe Connect, your bank details are collected and held by Stripe in its own flow and do not reach Timefolk. If you enter bank, UPI, PayPal, mobile-money or wallet details in Timefolk's own payout form, we store them on our servers, encrypted, and use them, or pass them to Stripe, only to send your payouts.
There is no peer-to-peer transfer and no cash. A member may use earnings that are available for withdrawal to pay for their own sessions; there is no other wallet or stored balance.
Where it is enabled, experts and Folks can choose to receive payouts in digital currency (USDT) through NOWPayments instead of a bank transfer, and the website may offer USDT through NOWPayments as a way to pay for a session. Card payments are not affected.
This policy is in force from 2026-11-07 (version 2026-11-07.1). The version you accepted is recorded against your account. Nothing here is legal advice, and it does not remove rights given to you by the consumer law of the country you live in. Questions: legal@timefolk.com.
