Terms of Service

Last updated: February 2026

What surstrom is

surstrom is a payment routing layer. We connect Relays (merchants with payment infrastructure) with Clients (merchants who need payment processing). We facilitate the connection and settlement. We are not a payment processor, money transmitter, or bank.

The deal

  • Relays share their payment provider (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) to process Client transactions
  • Relays set their fee. Clients set their max fee. Pool matches when bids align
  • Relays deposit USDC reserve on Solana — this funds instant Client payouts after successful payments
  • Clients receive a 1% security hold per transaction, frozen for 45 days as chargeback insurance
  • Settlement is in USDC on Solana. We never hold or touch fiat
  • Platform fee is 0%. Relays earn the spread between what they charge and what their provider costs

Accounts & eligibility

  • All accounts start as Pending. Clients are staff-reviewed before pool access is granted
  • We can suspend or reject accounts at our discretion
  • One Stripe account per Relay — duplicate provider accounts are blocked
  • You're responsible for keeping your API key secret. If compromised, regenerate it immediately via dashboard

Wallets & withdrawals

  • Each account gets one Solana wallet (custodial). Private keys are encrypted at rest
  • Withdrawals require two-factor authentication (TOTP). No exceptions
  • Minimum withdrawal: $2 USDC
  • You must set an external Solana wallet address before receiving payouts
  • SOL for transaction fees is provided by the platform — you don't need to fund gas

What we do

  • Vet Clients before they join the pool (staff review)
  • Provide the SDK, API, and routing infrastructure
  • Hold Relay reserves on Solana for instant Client payouts
  • Hold Client security deposits (1% per transaction, 45-day freeze) for chargeback coverage
  • Distribute payments across the pool to spread risk
  • Deliver webhooks to Relay and Client endpoints on every payment status change
  • Top up wallet SOL for transaction fees automatically

What we don't do

  • We don't hold fiat. Ever. Money flows Buyer → Provider → Relay. Separately: Reserve → Client via Solana
  • We don't guarantee uptime or transaction success
  • We don't provide legal or tax advice
  • We don't protect you from your payment provider's enforcement
  • We don't retry failed webhooks. Delivery is fire-and-forget — build your integration accordingly
  • We don't support recurring payments or subscriptions. One-time payments only

API & rate limits

  • Payment initiation: 10 requests per second per API key
  • All endpoints are rate-limited. Abuse results in temporary or permanent suspension
  • Webhook URLs must be HTTPS, respond with 200 on test, and not point to private/internal IPs
  • Relays must install and verify the SDK on their checkout page before joining the pool

Referrals

Referral fees are deducted from the Client's payout and distributed on-chain alongside the main settlement. Referral wallets and fee percentages are set at the account level.

Reviews

Clients can leave one review per Relay (after transacting). Reviews are public. Relays can reply via comments. We don't moderate reviews unless they're spam or abusive.

Prohibited use

  • Illegal goods or services
  • Money laundering or fraud
  • Sanctions evasion
  • Anything that would get you banned from Stripe/PayPal anyway

Disputes & chargebacks

The 1% security hold (frozen 45 days per transaction) covers most chargeback cases. If it doesn't, we'll work with both parties to resolve. Our decision is final. If you don't like it, your recourse is to leave the platform.

  • Relays can block specific Clients via their reject list
  • Relays can view Client profiles post-transaction (chargeback score, volume, region)
  • Stripe Radar fraud scores are collected and visible to Relays

Liability

We provide the platform "as is". We're not liable for losses from provider account terminations, failed transactions, blockchain issues, or anything else. Maximum liability is limited to fees you've paid us in the last 30 days (which is $0 because we charge 0% platform fee).

Changes

We can update these terms. We'll notify via Discord. Continued use means acceptance. If you disagree, withdraw your reserves and leave.

Contact

Questions? Discord. We're real people, not a legal department.