Translation pending. The English-language source is shown below until a reviewed translation is available.

DRAFT, pending counsel review. This document is an internal draft prepared on 2026-04-26 by the engineering team. It has NOT been reviewed by external legal counsel. Do not rely on it for legal advice. Effective date is a placeholder pending sign-off. Apostle Pty Ltd makes no representation that this draft satisfies any specific jurisdictional requirement until counsel-reviewed.

PYLON Payout Terms

Revision date: 2026-04-26 (draft v0.1.0) Audience: Filmmakers receiving Compensation from PYLON Companion documents:

/legal/filmmaker-distribution-agreement (master licence)
/legal/minimum-guarantee-addendum (where applicable)

Scope
Stripe Connect onboarding
Supported countries
Manual-wire override
Tax forms (W-9 / W-8BEN / W-8BEN-E)
Australian GST
Currency and FX
Minimum payout threshold and carry-forward
Payout cadence
What gets paid (Net Pool calculation)
Statements and reporting
Disputes and appeals
Failures, returns, and reversed payouts
Stripe Connect ToS pass-through
Sanctions, AML, and KYC
Death, incapacity, and account transfer
Account closure and final payment
Updates to these terms

1. Scope

These Payout Terms govern how PYLON (Apostle Pty Ltd, NSW Australia) pays Compensation to Creators under the Filmmaker Distribution Agreement (the "Agreement"). They are incorporated into the Agreement by reference and apply to every payout to every Creator, unless a separately executed addendum (e.g. the Minimum Guarantee Addendum) provides otherwise.

In the event of any inconsistency between these Payout Terms and the Agreement, the Agreement controls; in the event of any inconsistency between these Payout Terms and the Stripe Connect Terms of Service (stripe.com/connect-account/legal), the Stripe Connect Terms of Service control as to the Stripe-Creator relationship.

2. Stripe Connect onboarding

2.1 Connected account required

Every Creator must onboard a Stripe Connect Express account before PYLON can pay Compensation. The onboarding link is generated by PYLON at /studio/payouts/setup and the Creator completes the flow on Stripe's hosted onboarding pages.

2.2 KYC information

As part of Stripe Connect onboarding, the Creator must provide:

legal name (matching government-issued ID);
date of birth (where required by Stripe in the Creator's country);
residential or business address;
payout bank-account details (routing/sort/IBAN/SWIFT depending on country);
government-issued identification (where Stripe requires verification);
business-entity information (where the Creator onboards as a company rather than an individual).

PYLON does not store or transmit this KYC data; it is collected and stored by Stripe under Stripe's published privacy and security practices. PYLON receives a Stripe-issued opaque account identifier (beginning acct_…) and capability flags.

2.3 No payouts without verified Connect

PYLON will not initiate any payout to a Creator whose Stripe Connect account is not in verified and payouts_enabled state. Compensation that would otherwise be paid accumulates in the Creator's PYLON ledger and is released on the next eligible payout cycle after verification, subject to the threshold in section 8.

2.4 Creator's responsibility

The Creator is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information provided to Stripe and for keeping bank-account details current. PYLON is not liable for payouts misdirected, returned, or delayed because of inaccurate Stripe Connect information.

3. Supported countries

3.1 Snapshot

As of the Effective Date, PYLON supports Stripe Connect Express onboarding in the following countries (the authoritative list is maintained at packages/payments/src/connect-countries.ts in the PYLON repository and is updated as Stripe's coverage changes):

Europe (EU + EEA + UK + Gibraltar), Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Americas, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, United States.

Asia-Pacific, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand.

Gulf, United Arab Emirates.

3.2 Coverage changes

PYLON may add or remove supported countries at any time, in line with Stripe Connect's published country coverage and PYLON's compliance posture. Removal of a country may result in a Creator falling onto the manual-wire override path under section 4 or, in extreme cases, into the payout waitlist (where neither Stripe Connect nor manual wire is operationally feasible).

3.3 Waitlist

A Creator who is not supported on Stripe Connect Express and is not eligible for manual-wire override (section 4) is placed on PYLON's creator-payout waitlist (recorded in the creator_payout_waitlist table). Compensation continues to accrue and is paid promptly when the Creator's country becomes supported or manual-wire override is approved.

4. Manual-wire override

4.1 When available

For Creators in countries not supported by Stripe Connect Express, PYLON may, at its sole discretion, approve a manual-wire override. The override is recorded in the manual_wire_override flag in PYLON's creator-profile schema and triggers a separate payout pipeline.

4.2 Eligibility

Manual-wire override is generally available only where:

(a) the Creator's country is not on the supported list in section 3 but is not subject to OFAC, AU DFAT, or comparable sanctions;
(b) the Creator can provide bank-correspondent details (SWIFT / IBAN / intermediary-bank instructions) and a tax form per section 5;
(c) the Creator agrees to a higher minimum threshold (typically US$100, vs the US$25 default), reflecting wire-transfer cost.

4.3 Wire fees

The Creator bears any wire-transfer fee, intermediary-bank fee, and foreign-bank receiving fee. PYLON may net these fees from the payout amount or invoice them separately, at PYLON's election.

4.4 Process

Manual wires are batched quarterly rather than monthly, on or about the first business day of each calendar quarter. Compensation accrues in the Creator's PYLON ledger in the interim and is released at quarter-end subject to the higher threshold.

4.5 No guarantee

PYLON makes no guarantee of manual-wire override availability and may withdraw the option for any individual Creator at any time, with written notice and a reasonable runway to transition to Stripe Connect or accept the waitlist.

5. Tax forms

5.1 Form required

The Creator must submit a properly completed tax form before PYLON will release a payout:

Form W-9, for Creators who are US tax residents (US citizens, US permanent residents, US-domiciled entities).
Form W-8BEN, for Creators who are non-US natural persons.
Form W-8BEN-E, for Creators who are non-US legal entities.

PYLON collects these forms via the Stripe Connect onboarding flow where Stripe supports it; otherwise via a secure form at /studio/payouts/tax.

5.2 Refresh cycle

Forms must be refreshed every 3 years or earlier on a change in the Creator's tax status (e.g. moving from non-US to US residency, or forming a corporate entity).

5.3 Withholding

PYLON applies US backup withholding and US-source income withholding where the Creator's submitted form requires it. Treaty-rate reductions under W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E are applied where the Creator certifies a treaty position.

5.4 1099 / 1042-S issuance

PYLON issues Form 1099-NEC (US Creators) or Form 1042-S (non-US Creators receiving US-source income) annually as required by IRS rules.

5.5 Inaccuracy indemnity

The Creator indemnifies PYLON against any tax, penalty, or interest that PYLON is required to pay or withhold as a result of the Creator's inaccurate or stale tax form.

6. Australian GST

6.1 Australian Creators

If the Creator is registered (or required to be registered) for Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST):

the Creator must provide a valid ABN at onboarding;
monthly statements act as recipient-created tax invoices (RCTI) per the ATO RCTI determination, unless the Creator opts out by writing to [email protected];
PYLON pays GST in addition to Compensation, recoverable per Australian GST law.

6.2 Non-Australian Creators

GST does not apply to Compensation paid to Creators outside Australia in the ordinary case. PYLON applies the GST treatment that PYLON's external tax adviser confirms is correct for any cross-border supply.

7. Currency and FX

7.1 USD denomination

All Compensation is denominated and paid in United States dollars (USD).

7.2 FX risk

The Creator bears any FX risk and bank conversion cost on receipt. Stripe Connect may auto-convert USD to the Creator's home currency on payout, the conversion rate is Stripe's, not PYLON's, and is set under Stripe's published terms.

7.3 Statement currency

Monthly statements are issued in USD. Where the Creator's home currency differs, the Creator may convert in their accounting tool of choice; PYLON does not provide tax-jurisdiction-specific fixed-rate conversion.

8. Minimum payout threshold and carry-forward

8.1 $25 threshold

The minimum payout threshold is US$25.00 per payout. Amounts below $25.00 in any monthly cycle do not pay out and instead carry forward to the next eligible cycle.

8.2 No expiry

Carried-forward balances do not expire. They accumulate indefinitely until the threshold is met, at which point the entire accumulated balance pays out in a single payout.

8.3 Account closure

On Creator-elected account closure or termination of the Agreement, any unpaid balance is paid out in the next payout cycle regardless of threshold, subject to a Creator-provided final payout instruction.

8.4 Manual-wire threshold

Where the Creator is on the manual-wire override path (section 4), the minimum threshold is the higher of US$25 and US$100 (the manual-wire threshold), reflecting wire-transfer cost.

9. Payout cadence

9.1 Monthly default

PYLON pays Compensation monthly, on or about the 1st calendar day of each month, for Watch-time aggregated in the prior calendar month.

9.2 Cut-off and lag

Watch-time is aggregated through the last day of the prior calendar month. The payout calculation and Stripe Connect transfer typically complete within the first 3 business days of the new month; allow up to 7 business days for funds to arrive in the Creator's home bank account, depending on Stripe's settlement schedule.

9.3 Quarterly cadence (manual-wire)

Manual-wire payouts are batched quarterly, on or about the first business day of each calendar quarter (1 Jan, 1 Apr, 1 Jul, 1 Oct).

9.4 Holds

PYLON may delay an individual payout where:

(a) Stripe flags the connected account for review;
(b) PYLON is investigating a suspected fraud, chargeback abuse, or AML issue affecting the Creator's payout;
(c) the Creator has an open audit (clause 11 of the Agreement);
(d) a regulator, court, or law-enforcement agency requires hold;
(e) sanctions screening flags the payout (section 15).

PYLON shall notify the Creator of a hold within 5 business days and shall release the payout promptly when the underlying cause is resolved.

10. What gets paid (Net Pool calculation)

Compensation is the Creator's Pro-Rata Share of the Net Pool, as defined in the Agreement (clause 10). For convenience, the Net Pool calculation is:

Net Pool =

(i) PYLON's net SVOD subscriber revenue attributable to the platform, plus
(ii) PYLON's net FAST advertising revenue attributable to the platform, minus
(iii) PYLON's distribution fee at the rate set out in Schedule A (45%), minus
(iv) refunds, chargebacks, fraud reversals, and card-network fees, minus
(v) bad debt actually written off.

Pro-Rata Share =

(Title's qualifying Watch-time / total qualifying Watch-time across all Titles in the Pool for the month) × Net Pool × 55%.

A worked example is included in clause 10.2 of the Agreement.

11. Statements and reporting

11.1 Where statements live

Monthly Creator statements are published at /studio/earnings. Each statement covers the prior calendar month and shows:

Watch-time per Title;
Net Pool calculation (gross revenue, distribution fee, refunds, chargebacks, network fees);
Per-Title Pro-Rata calculation;
Gross Compensation, deductions (set-off, MG recoupment, withholding), Net Compensation paid;
Carry-forward balance.

11.2 Delivery cadence

Statements are typically published by the 5th business day of each month. The Creator receives an email notification with a link.

11.3 Statement format

Statements are downloadable as CSV and PDF. PYLON retains every statement for at least 7 years in line with Australian tax record-keeping requirements.

11.4 Watch-time aggregation

Watch-time is aggregated from the view_events table by PYLON's revenue-pool worker. Only premium view events (authenticated paying subscribers, qualifying-view threshold met) are counted. FAST views feed the Net Pool's FAST-revenue line but are not themselves Watch-time for Pro-Rata purposes; the FAST line shows up in the Net Pool, distributed pro-rata by Watch-time.

12. Disputes and appeals

12.1 30-day window

The Creator must raise any dispute with a monthly statement within 30 days of publication. Statements not disputed within 30 days are deemed accepted, subject to the audit right in clause 11.2 of the Agreement.

12.2 How to file a dispute

Open a dispute via /studio/earnings/dispute, providing:

the statement period;
the Title and amount in dispute;
a description of the basis for dispute;
supporting evidence (e.g. competing analytics, redelivery records, partner attribution).

12.3 Resolution timeline

PYLON shall acknowledge a dispute within 5 business days and shall provide a substantive response within 30 days, including any adjustment, supplemental payment, or explanation of why no adjustment is owed.

12.4 Escalation

If the dispute is not resolved to the Creator's satisfaction, the Creator may:

exercise the audit right in clause 11.2 of the Agreement;
escalate via the dispute-resolution process in clause 22 of the Agreement (informal resolution → NSW courts or, by mutual agreement, ACICA arbitration);
if a "consumer" under the Australian Consumer Law, exercise any non-excludable rights under that statute.

12.5 No payout pause during dispute

A dispute does not pause payment of the undisputed portion of the statement. The disputed portion is held until resolution.

13. Failures, returns, and reversed payouts

13.1 Stripe-side failure

If Stripe Connect rejects, returns, or reverses a payout (e.g. closed bank account, beneficiary mismatch, ACH return), PYLON shall:

(a) credit the failed amount back to the Creator's PYLON ledger;
(b) notify the Creator within 3 business days;
(c) re-attempt the payout in the next monthly cycle once the underlying issue is resolved.

13.2 Wire return

For manual-wire payouts, the Creator bears the cost of any return / investigation initiated by the Creator's correspondent bank on mistaken Creator-supplied details. PYLON bears the cost of returns caused by PYLON-side error.

13.3 Reversal for fraud

If PYLON reverses a payout because of upstream fraud or chargeback on the underlying SVOD subscriber transaction, PYLON shall:

(a) document the reversal with a CSV / audit-log line;
(b) include the reversal as a deduction in the next monthly statement, with a description.

14. Stripe Connect ToS pass-through

By onboarding to Stripe Connect Express through PYLON, the Creator also accepts the Stripe Connected Account Agreement and Stripe Services Agreement at:

The Stripe agreements:

govern the Creator's relationship with Stripe (PYLON is a Stripe platform, not a payment processor);
set out Stripe's KYC, AML, prohibited-business, and dispute policies;
include Stripe's right to terminate the Creator's connected account independent of PYLON's decisions.

A Creator whose Stripe Connect account is suspended or terminated by Stripe must resolve the issue with Stripe directly. PYLON cannot override Stripe's decisions but will work cooperatively where Stripe requests platform-level confirmation.

15. Sanctions, AML, and KYC

15.1 Sanctions screening

PYLON screens Creator names and payout destinations against:

US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals list;
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) consolidated sanctions list;
relevant EU and UK sanctions lists.

15.2 No payout to sanctioned parties

PYLON will not pay Compensation to any individual, entity, or jurisdiction subject to applicable sanctions. Where a Creator's status changes mid-Term, PYLON shall:

(a) hold any unpaid Compensation pending resolution;
(b) notify the Creator (where lawful);
(c) terminate the Agreement if the sanctions status is durable.

15.3 AML

PYLON cooperates with AUSTRAC (Australian AML regulator) and counterpart authorities on AML inquiries. The Creator agrees to provide reasonable cooperation and information in response to AML inquiries.

15.4 KYC refresh

Stripe and PYLON may require KYC refresh at any time. Refusal to refresh may result in payout hold.

16. Death, incapacity, and account transfer

16.1 On death

On the death of a Creator who is a natural person:

the Creator's executor, administrator, or court-appointed legal representative may give notice in writing to [email protected] with a death certificate and grant of probate or letters of administration;
PYLON shall pay the unpaid balance to the estate's nominated account, subject to Stripe Connect's process for handling estate payouts and applicable law.

16.2 Incapacity

Where a Creator becomes incapable of managing their own affairs and has a court-appointed guardian or attorney-in-fact, the same process applies on receipt of certified evidence of authority.

16.3 Entity Creator

For corporate Creators, change of control or insolvency must be notified to PYLON within 14 days. PYLON may require updated KYC, new tax forms, or assignment documentation before continuing payouts.

16.4 Right of estate to revert

The legal representative of a deceased Creator may exercise the auto-reversion right and any cure or appeal right in the same way the Creator could.

17. Account closure and final payment

17.1 Voluntary closure

A Creator may close the PYLON creator account at any time by emailing [email protected], subject to:

(a) ongoing obligations under the Agreement (e.g. surviving representations and warranties);
(b) the auto-reversion process for any then-active Title.

17.2 Final payment

On account closure, PYLON shall:

(a) finalise any outstanding statement;
(b) release any carry-forward balance regardless of threshold (section 8.3) on the final cycle;
(c) issue any required tax form for the final period.

17.3 PYLON-initiated closure

PYLON may close the Creator account on:

material breach of the Agreement;
repeat-infringer termination;
sustained non-cooperation with KYC, AML, or sanctions inquiry;
Stripe Connect account termination by Stripe.

PYLON shall notify the Creator and shall release any earned but unpaid Compensation, subject to set-off for outstanding indemnity obligations and applicable law.

18. Updates to these terms

PYLON may update these Payout Terms from time to time. Material changes require:

30 days' advance email notice to all active Creators;
preservation of the prior version at docs/legal/archive/;
a version-history entry below.

A Creator who objects to a material update may exercise the 90-day exit right under clause 8 of the Agreement during the 30-day notice window, subject to the cure process.

Contact

Payouts support: [email protected]
Tax-form support: [email protected]
Filmmaker support: [email protected]
Legal: [email protected]

Version history

Version	Date	Author	Notes
0.1.0-draft	2026-04-26	engineering	Initial draft, pending counsel