AML / KYC Policy

This Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer ("AML/KYC") Policy describes the identity verification and monitoring procedures Community Platform applies to experts and creators who receive payments through the Platform. This policy exists to reduce the risk that the Platform is used to facilitate money laundering, fraud, or other illicit financial activity, and to comply with applicable law.

Every expert and creator must complete identity verification before they can receive any payment from the Platform. Verification is performed by Stripe as part of payout-account onboarding (Stripe Connect) and requires government-issued identification together with the information Stripe collects to satisfy its own Know Your Customer obligations. Until that verification is complete, Stripe does not enable payouts and no funds can be withdrawn: the payment remains on the Platform's own account with its payment processor and the expert or creator cannot access it. A profile may be reviewed and published before verification is complete. Publication permits a listing to be seen and booked, but does not enable payment. The Platform's "Verified" badge is displayed only after identity verification has been completed.

Experts and creators must be at least 18 years of age, consistent with the Platform's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which they agree to on application. The identity verification described in Section 2 confirms age at payout-account onboarding; because that verification precedes any withdrawal, no expert or creator can be paid without it. Government-issued identification submitted during verification is processed directly by Stripe under Stripe's own data handling standards. Community Platform does not receive or store copies of ID documents.

Expert and creator applications require a name, email address, professional or content category, and a payout method. For payout by bank or debit card, Stripe performs the identity verification described in Section 2 as part of its own onboarding and compliance procedures, and payouts remain disabled until it is complete. For payout by crypto wallet, the wallet address provided is recorded and associated with the account on file. For cross-border payout via the See Section 10.

Community Platform reserves the right to monitor transaction patterns for signs of suspicious activity, including unusually large or frequent payments, rapid movement of funds inconsistent with normal platform use, or activity involving jurisdictions subject to sanctions. Accounts flagged for suspicious activity may be suspended pending review, and Community Platform may request additional information or documentation before restoring access.

The Platform may not be used to: launder proceeds of criminal activity; finance terrorism; evade sanctions; provide services to individuals or entities on any government sanctions or watch list; or structure transactions to avoid identity verification or reporting thresholds. Community Platform will terminate accounts found to be engaged in, or reasonably suspected of, any of these activities, and will cooperate with law enforcement as legally required.

Where required by applicable law, Community Platform and its payment processors may report suspicious activity to relevant financial regulatory or law enforcement authorities. Community Platform does not notify the individual under review before making such a report, where prohibited from doing so by law.

Community Platform retains records of identity verification status, application data, and transaction history for experts and creators for as long as necessary to comply with applicable recordkeeping obligations and to support fraud prevention. Government ID documents and selfie images themselves are retained by Stripe under Stripe's own recordkeeping policies, not by Community Platform.

Crypto payout wallets, including self-custody wallets generated through the Platform's wallet generation tool, are associated with the verified identity of the expert or creator who submitted them. Community Platform is not responsible for funds sent to an incorrect or compromised wallet address, and cannot reverse on-chain payouts once sent, consistent with the Risk Disclosure.

Community Platform can pay experts and creators in USDC on the Stellar network instead of to a bank account, where the earner prefers it and the account has been approved for it. It reaches earners our card-network payout partner cannot serve, and it is also available to earners who simply prefer to be paid in USDC. Payouts to a connected bank account remain the default, because they are faster and reversible.

Approval is required and is not automatic. An earner may request USDC payouts, but cannot switch to them unaided. An administrator approves the account, and that approval is recorded with the administrator's identity, the time, and the reason. Approval can be withdrawn.

Identity verification still applies. Eligibility does not replace Section 2. Only accounts that have completed identity verification may receive a payout on this rail.

Address screening: every Stellar payout address is format-validated and screened against sanctions and internal fraud lists before it can be saved, and re-screened before each payout is recorded. Screening is fail-closed: if a screen cannot be completed, the address is not saved and the payout is not made.

Limits and approval: payouts are subject to a daily aggregate cap, and any individual payout above a set threshold requires explicit administrator approval. Eligibility is re-checked at the moment of sending, not inherited from when the address was saved, so a withdrawn approval stops the next payout rather than the next review.

Audit trail: every payout is written to an append-only ledger capturing the amount, destination address, transaction reference, screening outcome, and the administrator who approved it.

No custody of funds in transit: Community Platform does not hold member or earner funds in transit. Recipient-side identity verification and local-currency cash-out are performed by the recipient's chosen Stellar anchor, which is an independent licensed institution and not an agent of Community Platform.

Travel Rule: applicable Travel-Rule and money-transmission requirements are under review with counsel. That review is not complete, and no automated or unattended sending is enabled. Every payout on this rail is initiated by a person.

Community Platform may update this AML/KYC Policy to reflect changes in applicable law, regulatory guidance, or our own risk management practices. Continued use of the Platform after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

For questions about this AML/KYC Policy, contact us at: support@joincommunityplatform.com.