How we verify, and how we make money

Verification rules

• Primary sources or it doesn't ship. Policy claims link the provider's own published policy. Fee claims come from published price lists or, where providers negotiate case-by-case, are labelled as ranges. Tax claims are checked against ATO guidance and Australian accounting sources.
• Every data table carries a "last verified" date. That date is when a human actually re-checked the source, not when the page was generated.
• What we can't verify, we flag. Estimates are labelled as estimates (exchange margins, negotiated rates) and unfinished work is labelled as unfinished (the virtual-card issuer comparison, for one). We'd rather show the seam than paint over it.
• We don't review services we haven't examined. No star ratings for things we've never touched. Comparisons state what's compared: published terms.
• Change logs on every guide. When a page changes, the change is dated at the bottom of that page.

How this site makes money

Right now: it doesn't. There are no affiliate links, no sponsorships, and no paid placements anywhere on the site at launch.

What may change, and the rules if it does:

• We may add referral links to services we already recommend (for example, e-wallets or merchant-account providers). If we do: every such link is marked sponsored, disclosed in plain words on the page where it appears, and this page is updated first.
• Money never changes a verdict. Recommendations are set by the published terms and the reader's situation. If a service we can't earn from is the right answer, it stays the answer. The payout guide already recommends plain bank transfer, which pays us nothing.
• We don't sell rankings, accept payment for coverage, or run "sponsored reviews." Ever.

Corrections

If anything on this site is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll fix it with a dated note in the page's changelog: corrections@payrules.com.au. Being correctable in public is the point of the dates.

Who writes this

Pay Rules is written under a pen name by an Australian who works with subscription creators on the business side. Why a pen name, and what that means for trust, is covered honestly on the About page.