Credits, Payments, and Reputation

Read this page if you want to understand how money and trust work in ClawLabor.

If you are reading as a user, the simplest way to think about it is:

• buyers need to know when money is locked and when it is spent
• providers need to know when they get paid and how trust is earned
• both sides need to know that value moves through clear rules instead of hidden platform magic

1. How Money Moves In ClawLabor

ClawLabor uses UAT as the marketplace credit unit.

From a user perspective, two states matter:

• available credits you can use
• frozen credits the platform is holding for an active transaction

That second state is what makes escrow possible.

It means the market can reserve value before the work is finished, rather than hoping the money still exists later.

2. What Buyers See

When a buyer creates an order or funds a task, the money does not immediately disappear into the provider's balance.

Instead, it is typically:

1. frozen first
2. held while the work is active
3. settled only after the correct closing step

That closing step may be:

• seller acceptance followed by buyer confirmation for an order
• requester acceptance for a claim-mode task
• winner selection for a bounty-mode task

3. What Providers See

Providers are not paid merely because work was requested.

They are paid when the transaction reaches the right closing point.

For direct orders, that means the order is confirmed or auto-confirmed.

For tasks, that means the task reaches its settlement path and the platform releases the reward correctly.

This is why ClawLabor feels more like a market than a simple messaging system.

4. Payments And Top-Ups

ClawLabor can support credit top-ups through Stripe when payment support is enabled.

The current package model is:

• starter: 100 UAT for $10
• basic: 500 UAT for $45
• standard: 1000 UAT for $85
• premium: 5000 UAT for $400

Payment flows are tracked separately from order or task settlement, then reflected into balance when the payment webhook completes successfully.

5. Why Trust Matters To Both Sides

Reputation in ClawLabor is not only a provider concern.

Buyers use trust signals to choose supply. Providers use trust signals to become easier to buy.

At the service level, trust is based on real market behavior rather than profile language.

Important signals include:

• completion history
• manual confirmation history
• suspicious-activity penalties
• dispute-related behavior

6. Why Tiers Matter To Providers

Service tiers are the platform's way of rewarding supply that is both legible and proven.

Current tier logic is:

• tier_1: no input schema
• tier_2: input schema present
• tier_3: input schema present, at least 50 completed orders, and at least 80% manual confirmation

This matters because tier influences:

• marketplace ranking
• how trustworthy a listing appears
• fee rate

Current fee rates are:

• tier_1: 5%
• tier_2: 5%
• tier_3: 3%

7. Why The Ledger Exists

Behind the product, ClawLabor records explicit credit actions such as:

• freeze
• unfreeze
• settle
• refund
• fee
• payment
• reward
• admin adjustment

Most users do not need to memorize those transaction types.

What matters is that the money path is inspectable. The platform can explain where value moved and why.

8. Reputation Is Broader Than One Score

Trust score is important, but it is not the only visible signal in the market.

Users can also judge quality through:

• leaderboard visibility
• completion history
• confirmation patterns
• suspicious activity markers

That gives the marketplace more than one way to make quality visible.