How PassCast handles your money

This page explains how money flows through PassCast, who holds it at each step, how long it takes to reach the organiser, who is responsible for refunds, and what protects viewers when they pay by card. It is written for finance officers, club treasurers, school bursars, and anyone reviewing PassCast for procurement.

The short version is straightforward. PassCast does not collect, hold, or warehouse organiser revenue. Ticket money moves directly from the viewer's card to the organiser's own Stripe account via Stripe Connect, and from there to the organiser's bank on Stripe's standard payout schedule. PassCast's commission is taken at the moment of the transaction as a Stripe application fee and is the only money PassCast touches.

1. The agency model

PassCast operates as a technical agent for the organiser. The organiser is the principal in every viewer transaction. We facilitate the sale, the streaming, the access control, and the customer support routing, but the contract for the ticket is between the viewer and the organiser. PassCast is not a reseller and does not buy and resell content.

In practical terms this means that ticket revenue is the organiser's revenue from the moment the card is charged. PassCast holds no float and no escrow. The funds settle into the organiser's connected Stripe account immediately, less the Stripe processing fee and the PassCast commission, both deducted at the point of the transaction as standard Stripe Connect application fees.

The exception is Stripe Connect's standard merchant-of-record arrangements, where Stripe is the regulated payment institution acting between the card networks and the organiser's account. PassCast is neither the merchant of record nor the payment processor. We are the platform that connects the organiser, the viewer, and Stripe together.

2. Where your money goes when a viewer pays

When a viewer buys a ticket, Stripe authorises the card, captures the funds, deducts its own processing fee (typically 1.5% plus 20p for UK and EEA cards), deducts the PassCast commission as an application fee, and credits the remainder to the organiser's connected Stripe account. The split is transparent on every transaction inside the organiser's Stripe dashboard.

On the Community tier the PassCast commission is 20% of the ticket price (5% for registered charities). On Embed it is 12%. On Channel it is 8%. On Enterprise it is negotiated, typically 0% in exchange for a higher fixed monthly fee. These rates are visible on the pricing page and are constant per tier.

The viewer is charged exactly the displayed ticket price. The deductions come out of the organiser's share, not from the viewer's payment.

3. Payment timing

Funds appear in the organiser's connected Stripe account in real time as tickets are sold. They sit in the Stripe account until Stripe pays them out to the organiser's bank.

Stripe's standard payout schedule for UK and Irish accounts is between two and seven business days after the charge, depending on the country of the bank account, the maturity of the Stripe account, and the organiser's payout preferences. Stripe shows the expected payout date for each transaction inside its own dashboard. PassCast does not delay or batch payouts. The payout schedule is between the organiser and Stripe.

Some organisations prefer monthly bank-transfer payouts rather than Stripe Connect direct payouts. PassCast offers this as an alternative on every tier. In that case, PassCast acts as a collecting agent, holds ticket revenue net of fees in a segregated PassCast account, and pays the organiser monthly by bank transfer against an itemised statement. This option is documented in the organiser's service agreement and is only used where the organiser has explicitly opted into it.

4. Stripe's regulated status

All card payments on PassCast are processed by Stripe. Stripe Payments UK Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Electronic Money Institution. Stripe Payments Europe Limited, the Irish-incorporated entity that handles EU and EEA transactions, is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The practical consequence is that card transactions on PassCast are covered by the standard consumer protections that apply to regulated card payments in the UK and Ireland. Viewers paying by card have the protections of Section 75 of the UK Consumer Credit Act where applicable, and the chargeback rights provided by the card schemes (Visa, Mastercard, Amex).

Strong Customer Authentication, including 3D Secure where required, is handled automatically by Stripe in line with Payment Services Regulation 2017 in the UK and the equivalent EU PSD2 framework. PassCast does not store, transmit, or otherwise come into contact with cardholder data. Stripe is PCI DSS Level 1 certified.

5. Refunds

Refund policy is set by the organiser of each event. PassCast does not impose a platform-wide refund policy because the appropriate policy varies significantly between, for example, a paid funeral livestream, a sold-out championship final that was rained off, and a paid school concert that ran late. The organiser is closest to the right answer.

The organiser issues refunds from their own admin panel. When a refund is issued, Stripe refunds the original transaction in full or in part as directed. PassCast's commission on the refunded amount is also reversed at the same time, so the organiser is not left bearing the commission on a refunded ticket. Stripe's own processing fee on the original transaction is not refunded by Stripe and is therefore the organiser's loss on a refund. This matches standard practice across the card processing industry.

Stripe accepts refund instructions up to approximately 180 days after the original transaction. After that point, refunds are no longer possible through the card network and any goodwill payment to the viewer must be made by the organiser outside the platform.

PassCast will act on the organiser's refund instruction in cases where the organiser asks the PassCast team to process the refund on their behalf, for example where multiple refunds are needed at short notice. PassCast does not issue refunds without organiser instruction, and PassCast does not retain or override organiser refund decisions.

6. Chargebacks and disputes

If a viewer disputes a charge with their card issuer, the dispute is handled through Stripe's standard chargeback process. Stripe notifies the organiser through the connected Stripe account and through PassCast. The organiser is responsible for responding to the dispute with evidence of the purchase and delivery of the stream. PassCast provides the technical evidence (ticket purchase record, sign-in records, stream playback record) to assist the organiser's response.

If a chargeback is upheld in the viewer's favour, the disputed amount is reclaimed from the organiser's Stripe balance. Stripe applies a chargeback fee separately. PassCast does not charge an additional chargeback fee on top of Stripe's.

7. Data residency and viewer information

PassCast is hosted on EU infrastructure. The application runs on Vercel's Dublin region. The database runs on Supabase's EU West (Ireland) region. Viewer account data, purchase records, and stream session records are stored in the EU.

Card data is not stored by PassCast. Stripe holds the card data and the customer record on the organiser's behalf. Further detail on data handling, GDPR rights, and how to exercise them is on the privacy page.

8. Who PassCast is

PassCast is operated by ArdSeek Media Ltd, a company registered in Ireland. The service agreement signed by Channel and Enterprise customers is between the customer and ArdSeek Media Ltd. Community-tier organisers accept the Community terms during signup. Both documents are available on request, and Channel and Enterprise organisers receive a signed copy at onboarding.

9. Questions

For any specific question about money flow, refunds, regulated status, or anything else on this page, contact kevin@passcast.tv. Channel-tier prospects with detailed procurement questions can also use the Channel enquiry form, which routes to the same team but with the organisation context attached.