Payment, Billing, Payout, Refund and Dispute Policy
Helios uses Stripe and Stripe Connect as its primary payment-processing and payout infrastructure. This Policy governs the Helios user experience while also recognizing applicable Stripe terms, technical rules, risk controls, and financial-partner requirements.
Policy Overview
This page consolidates Helios payment, billing, payout, refund, cancellation, chargeback, and dispute rules into one central policy. Helios currently uses Stripe and Stripe Connect to process eligible payments, onboard connected accounts, move funds, issue refunds, manage disputes, and facilitate payouts.
This Payment, Billing, Payout, Refund and Dispute Policy (“Payment Policy”) explains how payments are authorized, collected, held, released, refunded, disputed, reversed, and paid out through the Helios platform.
It applies to companies and customers purchasing services; Experts, professionals, Vendors, and other service providers receiving payment; and all users participating in Quick Tasks, Gigs, projects, milestones, subscriptions, or other paid transactions.
This Payment Policy forms part of the Helios Terms of Service. By using Helios payment features, users agree to this Policy, the Terms of Service, applicable project terms, and relevant payment-processor terms.
Payment Policy Sections
DefinitionsKey payment and transaction terms.
- Buyer: A user purchasing or funding a service, Quick Task, Gig, project, milestone, subscription, or other transaction.
- Service Provider: An Expert, professional, Vendor, freelancer, or other user eligible to receive payment through Helios.
- Helios Pay: Payment functionality made available through the Helios platform.
- Payment Processor: Stripe or another third-party provider authorized by Helios to process payments, refunds, verification, transfers, and payouts.
- Connected Account: A payment account established by a Service Provider through Stripe Connect or another supported provider.
- Project: A Quick Task, Gig, consultation, milestone, engagement, or other paid transaction arranged through Helios.
- Platform Fee: An amount charged by Helios for access to, use of, or transactions completed through the platform.
- Processing Fee: A fee associated with payment processing, currency conversion, transfers, payouts, or related financial services.
- Available Balance: Cleared funds eligible for payout.
- Pending Balance: Funds received or recorded but not yet eligible for payout.
- Payment Release: Authorization or system action making payment available to a Service Provider, subject to holds and deductions.
- Refund: A full or partial return of payment to a Buyer.
- Payment Dispute: A request submitted through Helios concerning delivery, quality, authorization, completion, or payment status.
- Chargeback: A payment reversal initiated through a bank, card issuer, payment provider, or card network.
Role of Helios and Payment ProcessorsHow Helios, Stripe, banks, and card networks participate.
Helios provides a marketplace and payment-facilitation environment. Its primary payment solution is Stripe, including Stripe Payments and Stripe Connect. Helios may use another authorized processor where necessary.
Stripe may provide payment collection, payment authentication, tokenization, fraud screening, connected-account onboarding, identity verification, balance management, transfers, refunds, dispute handling, and payouts. The precise allocation of responsibility between Helios, Stripe, and a Connected Account depends on the Stripe account configuration and charge type used for the transaction.
Helios is not a bank, credit union, card issuer, escrow institution, or fiduciary. Users who receive funds may be required to create or maintain a Stripe Connected Account and accept the applicable Stripe Services Agreement, Stripe Connect terms, Connected Account Agreement, and other terms presented during Stripe onboarding.
Users may be required to provide legal name, business details, address, date of birth, government identification, tax information, beneficial-ownership information, bank-account details, and other information required by Stripe, its banking partners, payment networks, or applicable law.
A Payment Processor, bank, card issuer, or financial institution may reject, delay, block, reverse, or investigate a transaction. Helios does not control every external payment-processing decision.
Payment AuthorizationWhat users authorize when submitting payment.
When a Buyer submits a payment method or confirms a transaction, the Buyer authorizes Helios and its Payment Processor to:
- Verify and charge the payment method;
- Collect disclosed service amounts, Platform Fees, Processing Fees, taxes, and other charges;
- Reattempt failed payments where legally permitted;
- Store or tokenize payment methods when enabled by the Buyer;
- Process expressly authorized off-session charges;
- Issue credits, refunds, adjustments, and reversals; and
- Share necessary transaction information with banks, networks, fraud-prevention providers, regulators, and service providers.
The Buyer represents that the Buyer is authorized to use the submitted payment method and must keep billing information accurate and current.
Pricing and Transaction ConfirmationHow charges, fees, taxes, and errors are handled.
Before confirmation, Helios may display the service price, milestone amount, Platform Fee, Processing Fee, taxes, currency, recurring-payment terms, estimated provider earnings, and other transaction-specific charges.
The final checkout or confirmation amount controls unless there is an obvious pricing, system, currency, or calculation error. Helios may correct such errors and, where reasonably practicable, notify the affected user before collecting an additional amount.
Funding Quick Tasks, Gigs and ProjectsHow transactions may be authorized, captured, or held.
Helios may require a Buyer to fund all or part of a Project before work begins. Depending on the transaction, Helios may charge immediately, authorize and capture later, collect by milestone, collect a deposit, collect recurring payments, or hold funds pending completion, acceptance, or review.
A payment marked pending, authorized, processing, or reserved is not necessarily completed. Service Providers should not rely on a payment until Helios identifies the funds as available or released.
Milestone PaymentsFunding, acceptance, release, and completion rules.
A Project may be divided into milestones. Each milestone should identify the deliverable, payable amount, target date, acceptance requirements, and revision conditions.
A milestone may be released after Buyer acceptance or automatically when the Buyer approves the work, the review period expires without dispute, the project terms allow automatic release, Helios determines the work was completed, or release is otherwise required.
Funding a milestone is not acceptance. Releasing a milestone generally constitutes acceptance, except in cases involving fraud, unauthorized payment, duplicate payment, material misrepresentation, or another basis recognized by law.
Review and Acceptance PeriodTime available to inspect work and raise concerns.
Where a Project includes a review period, the Buyer must inspect the deliverable and raise material concerns before that period expires.
During the review period, the Buyer may accept the work, request in-scope revisions, report non-delivery, raise a Payment Dispute, or request cancellation where permitted. Failure to respond may result in automatic acceptance and Payment Release.
Platform and Processing FeesWhen fees apply and whether they are refundable.
Helios may charge Buyers, Service Providers, or both a Platform Fee. It may also charge or pass through Processing Fees for card payments, bank payments, currency conversion, international transactions, payouts, failed or returned payments, chargebacks, and related services.
Unless otherwise required by law or expressly stated by Helios, Platform Fees are non-refundable once the associated platform service has been substantially provided.
Under Stripe’s standard pricing rules, issuing a refund generally does not return the original Stripe payment-processing fee, Connect fee, or currency-conversion fee. Certain payment methods, bank transfers, or custom Stripe pricing arrangements may also impose a separate refund cost. Helios may deduct or retain these non-recoverable costs to the extent disclosed and permitted by law.
Service Provider Earnings and PayoutsVerification, availability, payout schedules, and timing.
A Service Provider must complete all identity, tax, banking, sanctions, business, and Connected Account verification required by Helios and Stripe before receiving payouts.
Stripe may request updated or additional information at any time. A Connected Account may be unable to accept payments or receive payouts until all outstanding Stripe requirements are satisfied.
Funds may become available only after payment confirmation, Buyer acceptance, completion of the review period, fraud and risk screening, resolution of disputes, applicable holding periods, and satisfaction of Payment Processor requirements.
Payout timing may vary by country, account history, schedule, bank processing time, payment method, currency, risk status, weekends, holidays, regulatory review, and Payment Processor availability. Estimated payout dates are not guaranteed delivery dates.
Payout Holds, Delays and ReservesWhen Helios may restrict or reserve funds.
Helios or its Payment Processor may delay, pause, limit, or withhold a payout when reasonably necessary to investigate fraud, complete verification, comply with law, respond to sanctions concerns, address disputes or chargebacks, cover anticipated liabilities, investigate unusual activity, confirm delivery, respond to account-security concerns, enforce policy, or protect users and third parties.
Helios or Stripe may establish fixed, rolling, transaction-specific, or percentage-based reserves for elevated refund, chargeback, fraud, performance, or compliance risk. Stripe may also hold reserve amounts when a Connected Account or platform balance becomes negative or when Stripe determines that future refunds, disputes, or losses are reasonably anticipated.
Reserved funds are not forfeited solely because they are held. They may be released after the relevant exposure is resolved, subject to refunds, disputes, fees, reversals, negative balances, or other authorized deductions.
Negative Balances and RecoveryHow refunds, reversals, and other liabilities are recovered.
An account may develop a negative balance because of refunds, chargebacks, reversals, dispute fees, duplicate payouts, erroneous transfers, taxes, penalties, fraud losses, or other valid adjustments.
Where legally permitted, Helios and Stripe may recover negative balances by deducting from current or future funds, reversing a transfer, offsetting future earnings, applying reserves, suspending payouts, debiting an authorized external account where Stripe’s configuration and local law permit, or requesting direct repayment.
For some Stripe Connect configurations, a refund or dispute is first deducted from the Connected Account. For other charge types or configurations, Helios may be financially responsible if the Connected Account lacks sufficient funds. Helios may recover such amounts from the responsible user.
Failure to resolve a negative balance may result in restrictions, suspension, termination, collection activity, or legal action.
CancellationsHow completed and uncompleted work is treated.
A Buyer or Service Provider may request cancellation through Helios. Approval depends on whether work started, the work completed, submitted deliverables, the reason for cancellation, project terms, incurred costs, user conduct, and fairness to the other party.
Unperformed work may be refunded. Payment may be released for completed or substantially completed work. Accepted milestones and applicable fees may remain final. Helios may allocate funded amounts based on the available evidence.
Refund EligibilityWhen full or partial refunds may be approved.
A full or partial refund may be available when a Service Provider did not deliver, cancelled before performing, materially failed to meet the agreed scope, or when a transaction was duplicated, incorrectly charged, unauthorized, affected by a confirmed technical error, mutually resolved, or legally required.
Refund eligibility depends on the transaction record, scope, communications, deliverables, timing, completion status, and evidence. Dissatisfaction alone does not guarantee a refund where the agreed service was materially delivered.
Non-Refundable PaymentsTransactions and fees generally treated as final.
Unless otherwise required by law, the following are generally non-refundable:
- Accepted or released work;
- Completed Quick Tasks and accepted milestones;
- Platform services already substantially provided;
- Processing, payout, banking, or currency-conversion costs already incurred;
- Work completed before cancellation;
- Custom work meeting the agreed scope;
- Started subscription periods, unless otherwise stated;
- Promotional credits or non-cash account credits;
- Off-platform payments; and
- Amounts associated with fraud, abuse, or material policy violations.
Helios may issue a discretionary credit or refund without creating an obligation to do so in other cases.
Refund Method and TimingWhere approved refunds are sent and when they appear.
Approved refunds are generally issued to the original payment method, the Buyer’s Helios Pay Balance where available and lawful, or another method approved by Helios or the Payment Processor.
Processing time depends on the payment method, transaction age, currency, Payment Processor, bank, and card network. Helios does not control how quickly an external institution posts a submitted refund.
Payment Disputes Through HeliosHow to raise a transaction concern before a chargeback.
Before filing a chargeback, users are expected to attempt resolution through Helios unless the payment was unauthorized or immediate external reporting is reasonably necessary.
A dispute should include the Project or transaction ID, issue description, relevant dates, agreed scope, communications, deliverables or evidence of non-delivery, revision requests, payment records, and requested resolution.
Helios may request additional evidence and establish response deadlines. Failure to respond may result in a decision based on the available record.
Payment Dispute ResolutionPossible outcomes and evidence considered.
Helios may release payment, issue a full or partial refund, divide funds, require limited revisions, cancel an uncompleted milestone, issue Helios credit, reverse a transfer, hold funds for further review, or take another reasonable action.
Helios may consider the original scope, agreed changes, delivery records, completion status, quality requirements, communications, timing, acceptance history, revision requests, user conduct, evidence of use or benefit, applicable policies, and fraud indicators.
Helios’s decision concerns administration of funds within the platform and is not necessarily a determination of every legal issue between users.
AppealsWhen a payment decision may be reconsidered.
An appeal may be submitted when a user identifies a material factual error, provides significant new evidence that was not reasonably available earlier, shows that a policy was materially misapplied, or identifies a technical or procedural error.
Helios may decline repetitive, abusive, bad-faith, unsupported, or duplicative appeals. Unless required by law, the appeal decision is final within the Helios internal process.
Chargebacks and External DisputesHow bank and card-network disputes affect the transaction.
A chargeback is separate from the Helios dispute process and is governed by the Buyer’s bank, card issuer, card network, Stripe, and applicable law. Stripe facilitates the submission of evidence, but the issuing bank or applicable payment institution generally makes the final chargeback decision.
When a chargeback is filed, Helios may suspend payment, reverse transfers, deduct the disputed amount and fees, hold payouts, submit evidence, restrict accounts, require repayment, or cancel related credits and refunds.
Users must not knowingly file a false or abusive chargeback, including claiming an authorized payment was unauthorized, disputing after using delivered work, seeking duplicate recovery, falsely claiming non-delivery, or withholding relevant evidence.
Duplicate RecoveryA user may not recover the same payment twice.
A user may not receive more than one refund, credit, reimbursement, or chargeback recovery for the same transaction.
Helios may cancel duplicate refunds, reverse credits, recover duplicate amounts, offset future balances, or restrict an account until overpayments are repaid. Users must promptly report duplicate credits or refunds.
Off-Platform PaymentsRequired transactions must remain within approved Helios flows.
Users must not move a Helios-initiated transaction off-platform to avoid fees, safeguards, monitoring, taxes, recordkeeping, or dispute procedures.
Prohibited conduct includes direct bank-payment requests, external wallet or cryptocurrency payment requests, false platform pricing with an off-platform balance, external invoices used to bypass Helios, or instructions to mischaracterize a transaction.
Helios does not administer, protect, mediate, or refund off-platform payments.
Fraudulent, Unauthorized and Restricted TransactionsProhibited payment and financial activity.
Helios Pay and Stripe must not be used for fraud, money laundering, sanctions evasion, stolen credentials, unauthorized payments, cash advances, sham transactions, circular payments, artificial volume, card testing, account takeover, prohibited goods or services, or unlawful activity.
Transactions must comply with Stripe’s current Prohibited and Restricted Businesses rules. Some otherwise lawful activities may require Stripe’s prior approval or may not be supported because of card-network, banking-partner, regulatory, geographic, or risk requirements.
Helios may block, reverse, hold, report, or investigate suspicious transactions and may require proof of identity, authorization, business activity, delivery, or source of funds.
TaxesUser responsibilities and Helios withholding or reporting.
Users are responsible for determining and satisfying their tax obligations unless Helios is legally required to calculate, collect, withhold, report, or remit taxes.
Helios may collect applicable taxes, request tax documentation, withhold required amounts, report payments, issue tax forms, and restrict payouts when required information is missing.
Nothing in this Policy constitutes tax advice.
Currency ConversionExchange rates, conversion fees, and refund differences.
Transactions may involve currency conversion determined by a Payment Processor, bank, financial institution, or card network.
Conversion may result in exchange-rate differences, third-party fees, and differences between the amount charged and the amount later refunded. Helios is not responsible for exchange-rate movements or third-party conversion charges.
Failed, Declined, Pending and Reversed PaymentsCommon payment states and consequences.
A payment may fail, be declined, remain pending, or be reversed because of insufficient funds, bank restrictions, incorrect details, authentication requirements, fraud screening, network interruptions, card expiration, regulatory restrictions, or other technical or financial reasons.
Helios may request another payment method. A Service Provider is not entitled to payout for a transaction that was not successfully collected unless Helios expressly states otherwise.
Account Closure With Pending FundsOutstanding liabilities continue after closure.
Closing an account does not eliminate existing payment obligations. Helios may retain transaction records and hold funds for a reasonable period to address refunds, chargebacks, disputes, taxes, legal requests, fraud, negative balances, policy investigations, and other outstanding liabilities.
After obligations are resolved, remaining eligible funds may be paid through the verified payout method, subject to thresholds and Payment Processor requirements.
Payment RecordsSource-of-truth records and correction of errors.
Helios and Stripe maintain transaction records. Stripe records may serve as the primary operational record for authorization, authentication, capture, payment status, refunds, transfers, payouts, reversals, disputes, chargebacks, and processing dates.
Stripe may collect, use, retain, and share transaction, identity, device, and financial information to process payments, prevent fraud, comply with legal obligations, enforce its agreements, and satisfy payment-network and financial-partner requirements, as described in Stripe’s applicable privacy notices.
Users should retain their own receipts, invoices, communications, deliverables, and tax documentation. Helios may correct obvious clerical, display, or system errors.
Payment SecuritySensitive credentials users and support must never request or share.
Users and Helios personnel must not request or transmit full card numbers, card security codes, banking passwords, payment-account passwords, one-time passwords, authentication codes, or similar sensitive credentials through messages or support channels.
Payment details should be entered only through an approved Stripe-hosted, Stripe-supported, or otherwise authorized secure payment interface. Helios does not intentionally store full card numbers or card security codes in its ordinary platform systems. Suspected unauthorized transactions or account compromise should be reported promptly.
Cooperation and EvidenceInformation users may need to provide during reviews.
Users agree to cooperate with reasonable payment, fraud, refund, dispute, chargeback, tax, and compliance investigations.
Helios may request identification, authorization evidence, invoices, contracts, project communications, delivery records, work product, revision history, attendance or shipping records, tax information, and other relevant evidence.
Failure to cooperate may result in delays, rejected requests, adverse dispute decisions, restrictions, or enforcement.
EnforcementPossible actions for violations or payment risk.
A violation of this Policy may result in a warning, payment hold, payout delay, reserve, refund, transfer reversal, fee recovery, account limitation, suspension, termination, collection activity, legal action, or referral to a Payment Processor, financial institution, regulator, or law-enforcement authority.
Enforcement may apply to an individual transaction, a payment feature, or the entire account.
Stripe Terms and Operating RulesAdditional terms that apply to Stripe-supported transactions.
Use of Stripe-supported payment services is subject to the Stripe terms applicable to the user, country, account type, payment method, and Stripe product being used. These may include:
- The Stripe Services Agreement and applicable service-specific terms;
- Stripe Connect terms and the Stripe Connected Account Agreement;
- Stripe’s Prohibited and Restricted Businesses requirements;
- Stripe’s Privacy Policy and Privacy Center disclosures;
- Stripe’s payment-method, refund, dispute, reserve, and payout rules;
- Card-network and banking-partner rules administered through Stripe; and
- Additional terms shown during onboarding, verification, or use of a Stripe product.
Stripe may update its terms, documentation, risk controls, eligibility requirements, and supported payment methods. Users are responsible for complying with the version applicable to their Stripe account and jurisdiction.
If Stripe refuses, limits, suspends, reserves, reverses, or terminates a payment service, Helios may take corresponding action within the platform. Helios cannot require Stripe, a bank, card network, or financial institution to approve or complete a transaction.
Relationship to Other PoliciesHow this policy interacts with Helios rules and processor terms.
This Policy should be read with the Helios Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Marketplace Integrity and Anti-Fraud Policy, Code of Conduct, Community Guidelines, Acceptable Use Policy, Dispute and Appeals Policy, Verification and Eligibility Policy, and project-specific terms.
If project-specific payment terms conflict with this Policy, they control only where clearly disclosed and accepted and where lawful. If this Policy conflicts with the Terms of Service, the Terms control unless expressly stated otherwise. Payment Processor terms may independently apply.
Changes to This PolicyHow and why Helios may update payment terms.
Helios may update this Policy to reflect platform changes, new payment features, fee changes, Payment Processor requirements, legal developments, fraud controls, risk management, or operational improvements.
Helios will provide notice of material changes where required. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance to the extent permitted by law.
Contact and Payment SupportWhere to submit payment questions and disputes.
Questions, refund requests, Payment Disputes, unauthorized-activity reports, and payment-support requests should be submitted through the Helios Help Center or official support channels.
Include the relevant Project ID, transaction ID, payment date, amount, and a clear description of the issue. Never send full card numbers, security codes, passwords, or one-time authentication codes.
