PalaestralHow you get paid.
A client pays you, through Stripe, into your own Stripe account. Here is what that means for the money, the fees and the refunds.
Who is the merchant when a client pays me?
You are. A client's card is charged by Stripe on your own Stripe account: the money is yours, Stripe bills its processing fee to you, and any 1099-K is issued in your name. Your money never sits with Palaestral on the way through, and no card number is ever held here. You connect a Stripe account of your own when you start, and you keep it, with its own dashboard.
What does a payment cost me?
Stripe's card processing, which at its standard US card rate is 2.9% + 30¢ a charge as of October 20, 2026 on Stripe's pricing page; your own Stripe account sets the rate you actually pay. Palaestral's own fee is what the pricing page states. A client pays exactly the price an instructor lists, and nothing is added to it.
A booking is confirmed when Stripe reports the payment, never when the client's browser comes back from paying, so a payment that went through is recorded even if the page closed first.
When does the money reach my bank?
Stripe pays your balance out to your bank on the schedule your Stripe account sets.
How does a refund work?
A booking is refunded on the cancellation terms it was sold under, out of your Stripe balance. A client who cancels gets the share their notice earns under those terms. A lesson you call off comes back in full. The cancellation terms guide explains how terms are set, and the terms page sets out every case.
What becomes of the fees on a refunded booking is on the terms page.