One of the greatest benefits for our Aspire community is that creators receive 100% of the agreed-upon payment — we never take a cut or any percentage.
After a creator completes all their deliverables for a collaboration, they'll be moved into the "Send Payment" stage in your project workflow. From there, simply click the Send Payment button to initiate the payment process. The payment will be charged to your credit card on file or deducted from your account balance. Once processed, the payment is sent directly from Aspire's PayPal to the creator’s PayPal account.
To send payments through Aspire, you must have a valid credit card on file or enough funds in your account balance.
For detailed instructions on sending payments, please refer to this article.
How to Add a Credit Card
Click on your initials in the bottom-left corner of the platform, then go to Settings > Payments > Add a Card.
Please note: Each transaction incurs a Payment Processing Fee. To view the current fees, visit Aspire Handling and Processing Fees.
How to Deposit a Balance
You can deposit funds into your Aspire account using ACH, wire transfer, or check. There are two ways to request an invoice for your deposit:
Option 1: Request an Invoice Directly in Aspire
If you have a user account in Aspire, follow these steps:
Click your initials in the bottom-left corner.
Select Settings.
Under the Workspace section, click Request Invoice.
Fill out the form and click Submit Invoice Request. Some fields will be pre-filled with your account information to save you time.
Option 2: Use the Invoice Request Form
Use the Invoice Request Form HERE. This form is available to all users within your organization, whether they are Aspire platform users or not.
After submitting your invoice request through either option, you will receive an invoice by email. Once payment is made and funds are received, Aspire’s Accounting Team will add the amount to your platform balance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens after I click "Send Payment?"
After you submit a payment, our accounting team will process the request and send the funds directly to the creator’s PayPal account within 7 business days.
If the creator does not have a PayPal email on file, Aspire will send an automated email with subject line "[Action Required] Claim your payment from {brand name}" prompting them to provide their PayPal email.
Once the creator provides their PayPal email, the payment status will move from "Pending Info" to "Processing". Please note, it may take up to 24 hours for this status to update.
After the payment is sent, the status will change to "Paid."
If the creator has not yet provided a PayPal email, they will receive automatic reminder emails from Aspire every 2 weeks asking them to claim their payment. During this time, the payment remains in "Pending Info" status.
Will creators incur a fee via PayPal?
No, creators will receive 100% of the agreed upon amount 😊
How are payments sent through PayPal?
All payments are issued from Aspire’s PayPal account using PayPal Payouts and are classified as "Goods and Services".
How can I ask for creators' PayPal information?
We recommend adding the "PayPal" field to your application form for paid collaborations and affiliate programs. Alternatively, you can send an Info Update Request to creators during the collaboration and include the PayPal field.
Do we need to provide creators with a 1099 Form?
No. If a creator meets the IRS reporting thresholds, PayPal will issue a 1099-K directly to them. Learn more about current 1099-K reporting thresholds.
How do payments work for international creators?
We currently only support payments in USD ($). If you're paying an international creator, Aspire will send the funds in USD via PayPal. When the creator claims the payment, PayPal will automatically convert the funds to the creator's local currency using PayPal's exchange rate, which includes a small currency conversion fee.
See this help article for more information on PayPal's currency calculator and exchange rates.
Additional Resources