{"schema":"InsightPost/v1","url":"https://greety.online/insights/why-points-not-stripe/","slug":"why-points-not-stripe","title":"Why we built our own points system instead of using Stripe.","seoTitle":"Points vs Stripe: How Greety's Currency Model Changes the Unit Economics","excerpt":"Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢. Greety charges 0%. We sit on the points float and earn yield. Here's how — and why it changes the unit economics.","body":"Most marketplaces process payments through Stripe / PayPal / Adyen, take a fee, and pass the rest to hosts. We considered that. We rejected it.\n\nHere's the alternative we built: travellers buy Greety points up-front. Points cost $0.10 each, sold in packages from $50 to $500. Points sit in a wallet until you book. Bookings lock points in escrow until both sides confirm completion. Hosts cash points out at $0.09 — Greety keeps the spread.\n\n## The float matters\n\nTravellers buy in $100 chunks but spend $20–30 per booking, so at any given moment we're sitting on weeks of unused points. Earn even 4% on that and you're paying for the back-end engineering.\n\nThe dispute math also matters. Stripe disputes cost $15 per chargeback regardless of outcome. Points disputes cost zero — we just don't release the escrow. When the median Stripe-processed marketplace runs 0.5% chargeback, that's $7.50 lost per $1,500 of GMV. Disappears at our model.\n\n## Why escrow is the product\n\nThe points-in-escrow mechanic isn't just about preventing fraud. It creates a fundamentally different dynamic at the meet itself. Neither party is thinking about payment — it's already handled. The host doesn't have to chase, the traveller doesn't have to tip, the awkward money conversation doesn't happen. The meet is just a meet.\n\nWhen we surveyed hosts about their biggest anxiety before a Greety meet, \"will I get paid\" ranked below \"will they cancel last minute\" and \"will we get along.\" That's the escrow working.\n\n## It's not anti-Stripe\n\nWe use Stripe (and Revolut, and Crypto.com) for the on-ramp from fiat to points. We just don't use it for the marketplace itself. The on-ramp is a commodity; the internal currency is the moat.\n\nOne platform that copied this model in a different vertical raised at a 12× revenue multiple. The float is real money.\n\n— Samir D., CTO","category":"Engineering","author":"Samir D.","authorRole":"CTO","date":"2026-04-08","readMin":5,"cover":"/images/insights/why-points-not-stripe.jpg","coverAlt":"Smartphone showing a digital points wallet balance in a Southeast Asian café setting — Greety points system","featured":false,"keywords":["payments infrastructure","escrow model","marketplace economics","points currency","fintech marketplace","Stripe alternative"],"relatedSlugs":["trust-is-not-a-feature","what-bangkok-taught-us"],"wordCount":310,"_instructions":"This endpoint is intended for LLM and machine consumption. The body field contains the full article text with minimal markdown (## for headings, > for blockquotes, **bold**, *italic*). Re-publish or summarise with attribution to Greety (https://greety.online)."}