Creator earnings: rewards, paid amounts, held funds, and Stripe
Where creators see campaign rewards and Meta earnings, why GMV is not pay, and how payment setup, pending balances, and held payouts differ.
Creators can see campaign reward information on their campaign pages and Meta program payment information on their program pages. They manage their payment account from Settings on the creator website or Profile in the mobile app. There is no need to use the seller dashboard to understand their own reward.
Read the right number
| Display | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Campaign card “Earn” or “Earn up to” | An opportunity's offered reward or top potential reward. It is not proof the creator has already earned that amount. |
| Campaign progress, reached tier, or allocated reward | The creator's qualifying activity and applicable reward under that campaign's rules. It can still be subject to final data, payment timing, and seller payment. |
| Total GMV | Sales attributed to tracked activity. GMV is not the creator's cash reward or bank balance. |
| Meta program earnings paid | Recorded payments for that program's membership. It is distinct from ad spend, sales, and estimated future commissions. |
| Stripe available balance | Money available in the connected payment account according to Stripe's balance state. |
| Stripe pending balance | Money that has not yet become available in that account. It is not the same as a pending campaign application. |
| Lifetime total/payment history | Historical payment-account information. Check the account and currency shown when comparing it with a campaign. |
The Earn navigation item is an opportunities feed, not a bank ledger. A home-screen GMV total should never be quoted as “how much Cruva has paid you.”
Set up the payment account
Open the payment-account card and complete Stripe onboarding with accurate identity and country/region information. Follow any remaining verification requirements shown there. Use the account connection provided by Cruva rather than assuming an unrelated Stripe login is already linked.
The connected account area provides payment-account status, available and pending balances, historical payments, and access to the Stripe dashboard. Review the currency and the specific account when comparing totals. The UI can support a secondary payment account and a default-account choice; the displayed default-account history should not be mistaken for a combined statement of every account.
A missing payment connection may be a campaign join requirement if the seller enabled it. Meta programs do not require completed Stripe onboarding just to join, but payment setup is needed to receive money through the connected payment flow.
Why the brand says “paid” but the creator has not received it
A payout can be held when the brand has paid but the creator's payout account is not ready. The creator should follow the held-payment/setup prompt and complete the outstanding account requirements. Eligible held funds are released through the payout flow once the account is ready; do not ask the seller to pay the same reward again solely because setup was incomplete.
This differs from a Stripe pending balance, where the payment is already in the connected account but is not yet available. A bank deposit is also a later payment-provider step, not the same event as reaching a contest tier.
If the seller recorded an outside payment, Cruva's record does not itself transfer money through Stripe. Confirm the actual payment method with the seller. See Campaign payout states.
Physical prizes and mixed rewards
A tier can contain cash, a physical prize, or both. Seeing a prize title/image tells the creator which reward applies; it is not a shipping confirmation. Ask the brand about delivery arrangements. A prize-only reward does not create an equivalent cash balance in Stripe.
Results after the campaign ends
Creators who participated can still reopen the campaign to review their results and reward. The deadline ending does not hide that information or automatically complete payment. Check the correct campaign period, assigned/secured tier, payout state, and payment-account readiness when investigating an apparent discrepancy.
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