Clubhouse and payment processing firm Stripe have teamed up to monetize the invitation-only audio-chat application via Payments. All users can now send money to their favorite creators, but not everyone can accept it just yet. The ability to receive a deposit will reach folks in waves—starting with a small test group.
"Our hope is to collect feedback, fine-tune the feature, and roll it out to everyone soon," according to a company blog announcement, which tipped this as "the first of many features that allow creators … to get paid directly on Clubhouse."
To send an in-app payment, open the profile of a creator (who has the feature enabled), tap "Send Money," and enter your chosen amount. First timers must register a credit or debit card before making a transfer. One hundred percent of the payment goes directly to the recipient, while a "small" processing fee incurred by the sender is paid to Stripe. Clubhouse earns nothing from these transactions.
"From the earliest days of Clubhouse, a guiding principle has been to build a platform that puts the creator first. Our aim is to help creators build community, audience, and impact," a company blog post said. "And as Clubhouse continues to scale, it's important to us to align our business model with that of the creators—helping them make money and thrive on the platform."
Launched in March 2020, Clubhouse eschews traditional social network norms like text, photos, and videos for live conversations. Be a fly on the wall during chats between famous, interesting, and knowledgeable people; you may even get to participate. The exclusive chat app everyone's talking about is currently available only on iOS. And while any iPhone owner can download the platform, you'll need an invitation from an existing user to start listening.