Terms of service

1. Introduction and who you are contracting with

Spanda operates a two-sided marketplace that connects small businesses (“brands”) with social-media creators for short-form campaigns. This agreement is between you and the Spanda operating entity.

The Spanda operating entity is Spanda services Inc., a corporation incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act (corporation number 1787750-1), with registered office at 36 Betterridge Trail, Barrie, Ontario L9J 0Z6, Canada. The founders of Spanda services Inc. are Saivishal Mothali (Founder) and Vinay Kiran Bhavanam (Co-founder). Spanda expects to operate a US subsidiary as it expands into the United States. If the contracting entity changes, we will post at least thirty days of advance notice on this page. No rights you hold under this agreement will be diminished by any such change.

Spanda is a marketplace and a payment facilitator. Spanda is not a bank, trust company, fiduciary, money transmitter, or employer of creators. Payments between brands and creators are processed by Stripe or Trolley. Spanda never takes custody of your funds.

2. Eligibility and account types

You must be at least eighteen years old to use Spanda. There are three account types.

• Creator accounts are for individuals who produce social-media content. Creator accounts are routed, at payout time, to either Stripe Connect Express (for US tax residents) or Trolley (for non-US tax residents). The routing is determined by the Substantial Presence Test, not by visa type.
• Brand accounts are for businesses that post campaigns. A person who creates a brand account warrants that they are authorized to bind the business to this agreement.
• Agency accounts are currently waitlist-only. When launched, agencies will be able to manage multiple brand accounts under one administrative layer. No agency features are active today.

One person, one account. If we determine that you have multiple accounts created to evade suspension, rate limits, or dispute history, we may close all of them.

3. Portfolio Mode for international students

Spanda offers Portfolio Mode for creators who hold an F-1 (or other work-restricted student) visa in the United States without current work authorization. Portfolio Mode lets you build a profile and be discovered by brands without ever receiving payment or anything of value through Spanda.

While you are in Portfolio Mode:

• No Stripe or Trolley payout account is provisioned for you. The payment system cannot pay you. This is a rail-level block, not a user-interface preference.
• You cannot receive payment, gift cards, free meals, product value, experiences, or any other form of compensation through Spanda in exchange for content.
• Brand interest signals are not reservations. A brand cannot hold a campaign slot, lock a rate, or commit to future work with you while you are in Portfolio Mode, and nothing you do or receive in Portfolio Mode is given in exchange for a promise of future paid work.
• If your status changes (for example, you receive an OPT Employment Authorization Document), you may upgrade to Paid Mode by uploading verification documents. At that point Spanda runs the tax residency wizard, provisions the correct payout rail, and routes future engagements. Historical Portfolio Mode interest does not convert retroactively into paid work; any new paid engagement is negotiated fresh.
• Spanda does not monitor your immigration status. Our role is to block payment at the processor level while you are in Portfolio Mode. Keeping your status attestation accurate is your responsibility.

If you attempt to accept compensation through any off-platform channel for content influenced by Spanda while in Portfolio Mode, you are solely responsible for any immigration or tax consequences.

4. Platform commission and fees

Spanda charges creators a ten percent platform commission on the gross value of each released campaign. Brands pay no platform commission. There is no subscription tier at launch.

Stripe and Trolley processing fees are separate from the platform commission and are disclosed at the time of each transaction. Currency conversion, where it applies, uses the processor’s published rate at the time of conversion.

5. Payment processing and funds held pending approval

All payments on Spanda are processed by one of two licensed providers. US tax residents are paid through Stripe Connect Express. Non-US tax residents are paid through Trolley. Brands fund campaigns by authorizing a charge on their saved payment method; the charge is held by Stripe as a delayed transfer pending delivery approval or dispute resolution.

Spanda is not a custodian of funds. At every point in the transaction lifecycle the money is held either on the brand’s payment method or by Stripe, never by Spanda. When a campaign is approved, Stripe or Trolley releases the payout to the creator net of platform commission and processing fees. When a campaign is refunded, the refund executes as a reversal of the original Stripe charge.

Tax forms are collected by the processors, not by Spanda. US creators complete a W-9 through Stripe Connect. Non-US creators complete a W-8BEN (individual) or W-8BEN-E (entity) through Trolley. Stripe issues 1099-K forms to US creators when they meet the applicable IRS threshold. Trolley issues 1042-S forms to non-US creators for US-source income.

6. Dispute resolution and service level

If a brand or creator raises a dispute over delivery, quality, or payment release, Spanda commits to a published service level.

• Initial acknowledgment: within twenty-four hours of the dispute being opened, you will receive a real human acknowledgment.
• First decision: within forty-eight hours of acknowledgment, Spanda will issue a first written decision.
• Complex cases: for cases that require additional evidence or third-party information, Spanda will close the dispute within five business days of acknowledgment.

If Spanda breaches this service level, the affected party will be automatically credited a small service credit. Refunds and releases following a dispute decision execute on the original payment rail: a refund is a reversal of the brand’s original Stripe charge, and a release is a payout through Stripe or Trolley to the creator. Spanda does not move funds through a Spanda-controlled account.

Spanda’s dispute decision is binding on the payment processor but does not replace your right to pursue binding arbitration under section 9 for claims that go beyond delivery-quality disagreements.

7. Advertising disclosure (FTC)

Creators must clearly disclose every paid partnership in the content they publish, consistent with the Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255. Acceptable disclosures include, but are not limited to, “#ad”, “#sponsored”, and the native platform “Paid partnership with” label.

Brands are responsible for specifying disclosure requirements in their campaign briefs and for reviewing creator content before approving payout. Spanda may scan published content for missing disclosures and may hold payouts pending correction.

8. Work-authorization attestation

When you create a creator account you will be asked to attest to your work-authorization status. Spanda is not your employer and does not complete an I-9 for you. Your attestation is your responsibility, and the accuracy of that attestation determines whether a payout rail is provisioned for your account.

If the information in your profile, bio, or onboarding answers indicates that you hold a student visa without current work authorization, Spanda’s interface will route you to Portfolio Mode. You may not override that routing without passing our contradiction check and acknowledging the expanded Portfolio Mode disclosures. Spanda logs every override with timestamp and session information to preserve an audit trail.

You agree to update your attestation within thirty days of any change to your status.

9. Binding arbitration and class-action waiver

Dispute resolution venue, arbitration provider, and seat are pending counsel review and will be published before any user agrees to a paid transaction on Spanda. Until then, the arbitration commitment in this section is presented in draft form for transparency and is not enforceable against any user. Arbitration, when finalized, will be conducted in English, and either party will be permitted to appear remotely.

You and Spanda each waive any right to a jury trial and any right to bring or participate in a class action, collective action, or representative action. The arbitrator may award only individual relief.

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to legal@spanda.services within thirty days of first accepting these terms. An opt-out does not affect any other provision of this agreement.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may bring an individual action in small-claims court for disputes within its jurisdictional limits, and either party may seek injunctive relief in court to protect intellectual property rights.

10. Termination and suspension

You may close your account at any time. Spanda may suspend or terminate your account for any of the following reasons:

• Violation of these terms, the community guidelines, or applicable law.
• Providing false information on your work-authorization attestation.
• Attempting to bypass Portfolio Mode to receive compensation.
• Filing chargebacks for content that was delivered and approved.
• Harassment, fraud, or abuse of other users or Spanda staff.
• A pattern of missed deliverables or dispute losses.

If we terminate your account, any funds that are pending release will follow the dispute-resolution process; they are not forfeited to Spanda. Pending payouts to suspended creators remain held by Stripe or Trolley until the underlying dispute is resolved.

11. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

Spanda is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Spanda disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Spanda’s aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or relating to these terms or your use of Spanda will not exceed the greater of the total platform commissions you have paid to Spanda in the twelve months preceding the claim, or one hundred US dollars.

Spanda is not liable for the acts or omissions of brands, creators, or third-party service providers including Stripe, Trolley, Persona, and social-media platforms.

12. Governing law and venue

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. Governing-law and venue clauses for users outside Canada, including users in the United States once a US subsidiary is operating, will be added as part of our pending counsel review. Conflicts-of-law rules are excluded.

Subject to the arbitration agreement in section 9, any action that is not subject to arbitration will be brought in the competent courts of the Province of Ontario, and each party submits to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. When we make a material change, we will post the updated terms on this page and notify you by email at least thirty days before the change takes effect. Your continued use of Spanda after the effective date of the change is your acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not agree, you may close your account before the effective date.

14. How to contact us

Questions about these terms can be sent to legal@spanda.services.