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Draft policy

No Off-Platform Payment Policy

Status: Draft — requires legal review before public launch.

This document is an operational policy draft for Kaziworks. It is not final legal wording, does not replace formal Terms of Service, and must be reviewed by qualified legal and compliance advisers before public payment launch.

Purpose

This policy explains Kaziworks's rule against using the platform to meet clients or freelancers and then avoiding Kaziworks-approved payment, messaging, milestone, fee, refund, and dispute processes.

Kaziworks is designed to protect clients and freelancers through platform-contained communication, milestone records, provider-confirmed payment states, dispute evidence, and clear fee accounting.

Core Rule

Users must not use Kaziworks to meet and then move payment outside Kaziworks in order to avoid platform fees, provider fees, payment protection rules, or dispute controls.

This applies to clients, freelancers, agencies, dual-role users, and anyone acting on behalf of a user.

Prohibited Payment and Contact Sharing

Users must not share, request, or encourage:

  • Bank account details for direct payment.
  • External payment links.
  • PayPal payment links intended to bypass Kaziworks.
  • Crypto wallet addresses.
  • WhatsApp payment requests.
  • EFT instructions outside Kaziworks.
  • Payment app links.
  • Invoices intended to bypass Kaziworks.
  • Phone numbers, WhatsApp numbers, email addresses, social handles, Discord links, Telegram links, or similar contact methods intended to move negotiation, delivery, or payment away from Kaziworks.

This rule applies in messages, proposals, project descriptions, attachments, profile text, delivery notes, and support interactions.

Why This Protects Clients and Freelancers

Keeping payments and communication inside Kaziworks helps:

  • Confirm the agreed project scope.
  • Preserve message and delivery evidence.
  • Track milestone funding and release status.
  • Apply refund and dispute policies.
  • Reduce scam and impersonation risk.
  • Protect freelancers from non-payment.
  • Protect clients from paying before delivery.
  • Ensure Kaziworks fees and provider fees are properly accounted.
  • Maintain accurate gross and net Kaziworks revenue records.

Off-platform payments can remove the records needed to support either side.

Effect on Dispute Protection

Kaziworks may reduce or deny dispute support when users deliberately move key communication, files, approvals, or payments off-platform.

Kaziworks may still review fraud, abuse, or safety issues, but the platform may be unable to verify:

  • What was agreed.
  • Whether work was delivered.
  • Whether payment was made.
  • Whether a refund is possible.
  • Whether provider protection applies.

Users who move payment off-platform accept the risk that Kaziworks cannot provide normal payment or dispute protection.

Warning, Strike, and Suspension Concepts

Kaziworks may respond to off-platform payment attempts with:

  • In-product warnings.
  • Message or proposal flagging.
  • Account strikes.
  • Reduced proposal limits.
  • Temporary account restrictions.
  • Project, proposal, or message moderation.
  • Suspension for repeated or serious circumvention.
  • Escalation to support, moderation, admin, legal, or provider review.

Enforcement should be evidence-based and documented.

Examples of Prohibited Behaviour

Prohibited behaviour includes:

  • A freelancer sends bank details and asks the client to pay directly.
  • A client asks for a WhatsApp number to avoid Kaziworks payment.
  • A user sends a PayPal link after meeting through Kaziworks to avoid fees.
  • A user asks to split the project, with part paid through Kaziworks and part paid privately to avoid fees.
  • A user asks another user to communicate by email so there is no Kaziworks record.
  • A user shares a crypto wallet address for project payment.
  • A user attaches an invoice with external bank details for work found through Kaziworks.

Examples of Allowed Behaviour

Allowed behaviour includes:

  • Discussing project scope inside Kaziworks messages.
  • Asking questions about deliverables, timeline, format, and milestones.
  • Uploading work files through approved Kaziworks delivery or attachment flows.
  • Asking Kaziworks support for help with a payment, refund, payout, or dispute.
  • Referring to Kaziworks-approved TradeSafe, Peach Payments, or PayPal flows when those flows are available.
  • Sharing publicly relevant portfolio examples where allowed by profile or project rules and not used to move payment off-platform.

Provider and Fee Alignment

Kaziworks's approved payment direction is:

  • TradeSafe is the approved primary escrow and milestone partner.
  • Peach Payments is the approved primary payout and platform-payment partner.
  • PayPal remains supported but secondary.

Kaziworks must track project value, client service fee, freelancer platform fee, provider fee, payment protection fee, net freelancer payout, gross Kaziworks revenue, and net Kaziworks revenue.

Off-platform payments prevent accurate tracking and may damage Kaziworks margin, dispute handling, and user protection.

Legal Review Warning

This no off-platform payment policy is a draft. It requires legal, compliance, provider, and operational review before public payment launch.