How FailFee works
Name the commitment. Put money on missing it. Prove it with a photo before the deadline — or the hold becomes the fee. Membership unlocks the builder; the stake is what keeps you honest.
- Step 1
Join with a membership
Sign in, then start a FailFee membership — monthly or yearly. That unlocks the app. Cancel or switch plans anytime from the billing portal. Membership is access — it does not replace the stake.
- Step 2
Name a goal you can prove
Write the commitment specifically enough that a photo could settle whether you did it or not.
- Step 3
Authorize a $5–$100 hold
Stripe places a manual-capture hold on your card. Nothing is charged yet — it is an authorization, not a payment.
- Step 4
Set a deadline of at most 5 days 12 hours
The window is capped because card authorizations expire after about a week. Once the hold clears, the contract is live and cannot be canceled.
- Step 5
Submit photo proof before the deadline
Upload a fresh photo matching what you described. It is checked against your contract description, not taken on trust.
- Step 6
The hold is released or captured
Pass review and the hold is released back to your card. Miss the deadline or fail review and the stake is captured as a fee.
The rules that don't change
- Stakes run from $5 to $100 per contract.
- Deadlines cannot exceed 5 days 12 hours — Stripe card authorizations expire, and that window leaves room to resolve the contract before they do.
- Proof is a photo checked against the description you wrote. High-confidence fails go to capture; ambiguous ones can go to a human reviewer.
- A membership unlocks the app. Cancel or switch plans anytime from billing. Membership is access, not a substitute for the stake.
- There is no canceling once the hold is authorized and the contract is live.