Payment Policy

Introduction

This Payment Policy describes how Maven compensates you for successful participation in (or referral to) a completed consulting interaction on the Maven platform. All references to “day” refer to a business day in San Francisco, California, USA.

Your Consulting Rate

Maven will compensate you for consulting work performed on Maven. You may set your own consulting rate by editing your Maven profile (Profile > Account > Participation). Any rate change you make will apply to any consultation invitations (and resulting interactions, if any) that you receive after the rate change; active invitations at the time of the change will not be affected.

Ineligible for Compensation

Maven will not pay for consulting work that is fraudulent or committed in bad faith. For example, we will not compensate you for a Survey response that includes plagiarized material, nor will we compensate you for Telephone Consultations in which you misrepresented your ability to address the subject of the interaction. Also, we will not compensate you if you are in breach of the legal obligations that you have to Maven. We will not compensate you for any consulting work that was not arranged, administered and billed through Maven.

We specialize in brief knowledge sharing interactions in which you discuss subjects with which you are very familiar, not subjects that you must research first. Generally, we do not pay for advanced preparation time, unless we otherwise agree in writing before the consulting engagement begins. We do not provide for minimum compensation amount. In the case of Telephone Consultations, what you will be paid is determined by reference to your hourly rate upon your acceptance, for the time you actually spend on the telephone with the customer, measured down to the minute. You will not be paid for an unsuccessful Consultation – for example if your telephone connection fails or if a language barrier exists. Unless otherwise agreed by Maven in advance in writing, you will not be paid for Consultations that take place external to Maven’s teleconferencing system or platform. Surveys must be completed within allotted time limits; we do not pay for Surveys for which you do not qualify, or which are incomplete, or where you have misrepresented your identity.

Referral Compensation

Unless otherwise specified in writing by Maven, Maven will compensate you with a 10% referral commission for consulting work performed on Maven by those persons whom you first introduce to Maven during the first year after the date such invitee registers with Maven. To be credited, your invitee must be invited using Maven’s automated invitation system, and must accept your Maven invitation accordingly. This includes our email invitation system as well as the personal referral link we have assigned you. Your invitee must click through on your invitation for you to be credited. You will not be compensated for persons who were invited by others or who are already Maven users.

Maven Credit

In the case of Telephone Consultations, compensation is deemed to occur when Maven credits your Maven account for the activity, which normally posts within 3 days after the consulting work is performed. In the case of Survey or Virtual Ideation Panel (VIP) participation, your payment will post to your Maven account 7 days after the date of completion pending a comprehensive quality assurance review by Maven Staff, during which Maven will review your consulting work for disqualification issues (such as plagiarism). Credit on your Maven account can be used for purchasing Maven products or services, or you can request a cash payment of your Maven credit as described herein. Credit will continue to accrue in your Maven account, without interest, until you use it on Maven or until you request a payment. Maven credits remain in your account for 3 years after the date they are credited to your account; however, after 3 years Maven credits expire and can no longer be paid out in cash or redeemed. To use your Maven credits for Maven products and services, login to the site and submit a request for expertise from your Dashboard or Contact Us. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, you will not be automatically paid your Maven credit; you must both request that a payment be generated as set forth above and elect a payment method as set forth below in order to be paid.

Cash Payment Requests

You may request a cash payment from your Maven Dashboard (Profile > Stats > Current Balance > Request Payment). When you ‘Request Payment’ you will be redirected to a webpage which will allow you to request the funds you would like to withdraw from your Maven Account. You must have more than a nominal balance to receive payment. Your request will be queued for processing within the next payment period. Your available payment method options (as well as the time of expected payment delivery, as discussed below) depends on your country of residency:

USA: through ACH or PayPal, administered by GoBold.com, Maven’s payments partner. There is no charge for payment delivery by ACH. If you choose PayPal as your preferred payment method, you will be subject to additional charges and fees assessed by PayPal.

PayPal-eligible countries (“PayPal Countries”): Using the link provided, confirm you can successfully receive funds through PayPal in your country by checking PayPal’s website here. If you may receive money by PayPal in your country your payment will be administered by GoBold.com, Maven’s payment partner. PayPal will typically deduct a processing fee from your payment, plus a foreign exchange fee.

PayPal-ineligible countries (“Non-PayPal Countries”): If your country is not eligible to receive funds by PayPal, contact us at info@maven.co; while we will make special payment accommodations (unless prohibited by law) please be aware that additional processing time, additional banking fees (which are your responsibility and will be deducted from your payment), and, in some cases, minimum payment amounts will apply. In certain cases, the applicable banking fees may exceed your payment amount, in which case we cannot transmit your payment.

Payments are generally made within 3 weeks from the time you both (a) request payment from Maven, and (b) activate your GoBold account (whichever is later) but in any case allow at least 5 weeks from the time of your request until when your payment is received. Payments to Non-PayPal Countries, which are handled external to GoBold, will take longer.

Payments to USA and PayPal-eligible Countries Through GoBold 

For all USA and PayPal-eligible Countries, GoBold (Gobold.com) is Maven’s exclusive manager of the distribution of Maven account balance payouts, which allows us to ensure compliance with applicable tax laws and other regulations. You must establish an account with GoBold to receive your payment from Maven.

After you request payment from Maven as described above, you will receive an email from GoBold prompting you to create an account to ‘Receive your Maven Payouts’. Please create your GoBold account promptly upon receipt of this email from GoBold to ensure timely payment. If you already have a GoBold account, you will simply receive notification that a new payment is ready for delivery. Creating a GoBold account is quick, easy and free.

GoBold presently offers to transmit your payment electronically by either ACH (within the USA) or by PayPal. GoBold does not charge you a fee for either ACH or PayPal, although your bank or PayPal may charge you fees for which we are not responsible. Though specific to your own personal circumstances, PayPal usually assesses a transfer fee and/or a currency conversion fee. Despite anything on the Maven website or GoBold.com to the contrary, Maven offers e-checks (ACH) only: Maven does not offer payment by paper check.

To receive payment from Maven, you must follow the Registration Process through GoBold and provide a valid PayPal address and/or your electronic funds transfer (ACH) information. After registration with GoBold, you will be able to manage your payment preferences directly through your account with GoBold. Allow 2 weeks after your registration and payment election is completed with GoBold before you can expect your payment to arrive.

Maven reserves the right to make changes to its payments process and policy at any time.

Tax Matters

If you are a U.S. person and you earn $600 or more in a calendar year from Maven, you must complete an IRS form W-9 to be eligible to receive a cash payment because we are legally required to report your earnings to the IRS using Form 1099. If during a calendar year you exceed $600 in Maven earnings, we may request that you complete a W-9 for reporting purposes; if you refuse to complete a W-9 before the end of the applicable calendar year, you will be deemed to have forfeited and waived any payment due to you in excess of $600.

As part of GoBold’s legal compliance protocol, you may be required to provide your W-9 information prior to being able to obtain any Maven payment from GoBold, without regard to the amount. If you fail to provide the required information, Maven and GoBold cannot process your payment.

According to the IRS, for federal tax purposes, you are considered a U.S. person if you are: an individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien; a partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States; an estate (other than a foreign estate); or domestic trust (as defined in Regulations section 301.7701-7).

If you are not a U.S. person, to receive a cash payment you must certify that fact to Maven and that you will address any tax implications applicable to your situation in your tax jurisdiction. By requesting payment from Maven or GoBold as a non-U.S. person, you understand that you are certifying to Maven and GoBold that you are not a U.S. person and that you will address any tax implications applicable to your situation in your tax jurisdiction and indemnify Maven and GoBold against any damages incurred by your failure to do so and/or your breach of applicable law.

Maven does not withhold taxes from any compensation it pays you. You are responsible for paying all required taxes, including income taxes, on your Maven earnings.

Cash Payment Assignment

You may request that Maven disburse your cash payment to another person (such as your employer or a registered 501(c)3 charity). To do so, use your GoBold account to direct payment to your chosen charity or email info@maven.co for more information. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary on the site, Maven no longer automatically directs charity payments on your behalf. You should consult with your tax advisor concerning any tax implications of such a request.

rev. March 15, 2017