Do you mean this knowledge will help you make a decision in advance?
Then I’ll explain what this means for SNOs. Typically, payment systems for mass international payouts work like this:
They treat you as a contractor, so you must complete KYC and provide all necessary documents confirming your eligibility to work in your region, your proper residency, and your citizenship (you may have a work permit, but your citizenship or place of birth may not meet their requirements). Depending on local laws and the employer’s laws (e.g., W8BEN for a US employer), you may also be required to provide additional documents.
Once verified, you can withdraw funds using your chosen method. Typically, not only fiat money, bank transfers, card transfers, or transfers to e-wallets like Wise/PayPal are available, but also cryptocurrency (availability depends on your citizenship/place of birth + residency). They usually charge a fee for withdrawals: some are a fixed amount, others are only a percentage. Some may also require regular withdrawals, otherwise your funds may be automatically withdrawn to your primary withdrawal method.
Some payment providers allow you to issue a card, either virtual or physical, and use it as an available withdrawal method, meaning you still comply with their regular withdrawal requirement, but you can still use their card in stores and elsewhere (in most cases, there will be restrictions, so be sure to read the terms carefully).
The employer can transfer funds to your payment processor account even if you haven’t passed verification, but you won’t be able to withdraw the money until you do. Payment processors typically also charge the employer a fee for the transfer—either a fixed amount per contractor, a fixed amount per batch, a percentage, or any combination of these. Sometimes they require a deposit or upfront fee for each contractor. Some do it for free if the transfer is within their system (but then they charge a fee for entering it into their system). In some cases, they may deduct this amount from the transferred amount (essentially passing on your costs to the contractor).
no i think you misunderstand me, let me ask it more clear
how many of storj’s storage nodes do you think will stay if storj asked them to undergo a kyc process? its not going to happen as storj pays in tokens… but IF they did
and that i did not know, i’m in euro country so rules are a tad different
here storj would be seen as a platform and as such they need to report every cent to tax auth. so that the nodes can pay the correct tax of their income
and for the customer side they would need to collect sales tax for every country they have customers in…
Since Storj-the-company is in the US… the rules are the same for you. As soon as you earn over $600 USD (in tokens) per year they’ll ask you to KYC for the IRS. Usually something like a W-9 if you’re in the US… or a W-8BEN if you’re not.
$600/year is around $50/month. And I’d assume SNOs that hit that size were still growing - so they plan to make more and more.
I bet a lot of SNOs would send Storj a PDF to keep getting those payouts. The network is still growing in node count, and /24s, and paid-capacity: so it doesn’t look like most are saying “hell no”
Why would anyone have any issue with that?! You are getting paid. Of course whoever pays you needs to know who you are. If anything, for tax reporting. Come on. What specifics “issue” are you talking about here?
Note that W8BEN is just a declaration, not verification. You have a simple form, where you write your name, address… and not much more. Here’s the PDF: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf No scans, no photos needed. Far from restrictive KYC processes payment processors often need to do.
@Toyoo is right, payment providers will require contractors to undergo a more in-depth KYC process, including providing an ID/driver’s license (where permitted), residence permit, place of birth, all types of citizenship or permanent residence permits, proof of physical address, work permit, certificate of individual entrepreneurship/proof of company ownership, etc. It all depends on the laws of the employer and the contractor. In most cases, it’s similar to the KYC process on centralized exchanges, with some additions such as additional documentation proving you’re authorized to work at your current location.
Yes, that’s exactly what I meant; you want some kind of survey.
However, SNO are currently paid in STORJ, and anyone who wants to convert them to fiat currency in their bank account has already completed KYC on their favorite exchange. Therefore, they’ll likely be willing to do the same again with your payment provider.
Those who prefer crypto may not be so keen. However, I imagine even they’ve completed similar verification on at least one centralized exchange to receive other crypto.
yeah, its just the nervous side of me speaking… but anyway i just discovered this KYC and sales tax side of the euro rules and i must say they are a bit more strict and it takes time to modify the satellite to please the law-makers
and then i have to gather both enough customers and nodes to make it just go even
That’s why these payment processors exist - to offload this work to them, allowing you to focus on customers and suppliers, such as marketing, timely payments to suppliers, user support, and, of course, supporting your satellite.
You can also outsource accounting and even satellite management.
However, this will, of course, impact your costs.
Literally millions of crowdworkers, affiliates or influencers get paid through payment processors that collect all sort of data from them. There is no reason to believe that especially SNOs are a group of people who would not pass their data over if they are required to to get paid.
Collecting data for payments that might be a decent chunk of monthly income probably makes sense. Less so for the few dollars average node operator gets.
