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How Payments & Rewards Work
All real-world purchases on Upstate Weekly News use normal card payments. Crypto never touches the checkout screen. Tokens live entirely inside the platform as a transparent rewards and alignment layer.
1. Customer pays in USD (via Stripe)
A customer buys a subscription or marketplace items using a regular debit/credit card (Stripe handles processing). For example:
- • $45 subscription purchase
- • $100 marketplace order from two local businesses
We collect payment and applicable New York State sales tax under our sales tax certificate.
2. We allocate rewards and balances inside the platform
After a purchase clears:
-
USWN rewards → Customer
Example: Buy a $45 subscription, receive around $10 worth of USWN tokens as a participation reward. -
USWND balance → Merchant(s)
For a $100 order across two merchants, each merchant receives USWND representing their share of the sale.
No one is buying crypto during checkout. Tokens are granted after normal USD payments settle.
3. Cash-out is local and familiar
Merchants can convert USWND to USD and request a same-day local bank check. Customers can optionally convert USWN → USWND → USD as well, subject to limits and policies. Everything settles through ordinary banking—not crypto exchanges.
Flow Diagram
Step 1
Customer
Pays with card (Stripe).
$45 subscription · $100 order
Step 2
Upstate Weekly News Platform
Collects payment + NYS sales tax.
Updates internal ledgers:
- • USWN rewards → customer
- • USWND balances → merchants
Customer side
USWN Rewards
Customer sees USWN balance in their wallet. They can hold it, convert to USWND, or eventually cash out through the same bank channels (subject to policy).
Merchant side
USWND → USD
Merchant sees USWND from completed sales and can request a same-day local bank check. From their perspective, it’s just normal USD settlement.
At no point are merchants required to hold or understand cryptocurrency. All taxes and banking happen in USD. Tokens operate as an internal rewards and staking system that never touches the checkout flow.