What is Disintermediation?
Disintermediation means "cutting out the middle man."
On StartPlaying, Disintermediation happens when a GM or player bypasses the platform by handling payments outside of StartPlaying for a game listed on our website.
What does StartPlaying’s Terms of Service say about Disintermediation?
The StartPlaying Terms of Service states:
Do not request, make, advertise or accept a booking or any payment outside of the StartPlaying Platform to avoid paying fees, taxes or for any other reason. This includes taking payment via Paypal, Venmo, Cashapp, or any other service from users who came from StartPlaying website, app, Discord server, and/or engage with a game, messaged, or discovered you on StartPlaying.
In simpler terms:
All payments for games listed on StartPlaying must be processed through StartPlaying.
Do not request, make, advertise, or accept payments outside of StartPlaying to avoid fees, taxes, or for any other reason.
This rule applies to any player who found you through StartPlaying, including:
The website
Discord
Any StartPlaying-related space
Using outside payment services like PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, or other similar platforms is strictly prohibited.
If a game is listed on StartPlaying, all payments for that game must go through StartPlaying - no exceptions.
What are the Consequences of Disintermediation?
Violating StartPlaying's Disintermediation policy will result in permanent removal of your account from the platform.
To avoid this, always make sure your payments for games listed on StartPlaying are processed through the StartPlaying platform.