Trust & Safety
Your money is structurally protected.
Not because we say so. Because of how it is held. This page explains the mechanics in plain language.
Where your deposit goes
- 1
You place a deposit
Stripe charges your card. Funds are routed to a protected account on behalf of the artist's campaign — not to SeatLock's bank account.
- 2
Funds sit in a protected account
The money is held by Stripe (or Stripe's banking partner). SeatLock cannot move it to its own operating account. It sits there, untouched, until the campaign resolves.
- 3
The campaign reaches its deadline
Two things can happen: the show is confirmed, or it isn't. SeatLock's automated system checks every campaign daily.
- 4a
Show confirmed: your deposit converts
Funds are released to the artist. Your deposit becomes a ticket credit at the pre-agreed price. SeatLock's platform fee is deducted from the artist's share — not from yours.
- 4b
Show not confirmed: automatic refund
Every fan's deposit is refunded to the original card automatically. No decision by SeatLock. No action required by you. The refund appears within 5–10 business days.
Common questions
Where does my money actually go?
Your deposit is charged by Stripe, our payment processor, and placed into a protected account on behalf of the artist’s campaign. When an artist has completed Stripe Connect onboarding, funds are routed directly to their connected account at the moment of payment — SeatLock’s operating account is never involved. When an artist has not yet connected, Stripe holds the funds in its platform balance, which is structurally separate from SeatLock’s corporate bank account.
What if SeatLock goes out of business?
Your deposit does not become part of SeatLock’s assets, so it is not at risk from anything that happens to SeatLock as a company. Fan deposits are held by Stripe or its banking partners — not by SeatLock — and are not available to SeatLock’s creditors. In the event that SeatLock shut down before your campaign resolved, our payment processor would issue refunds to fans per the terms of each campaign.
Why can I trust this?
Because the trust is not based on believing us. It is based on how the money is structurally held. The Deposit Agreement spells out the exact rules. Refunds are automatic, not something SeatLock chooses to do. If the show is not confirmed by the deadline, the system refunds every fan — no human at SeatLock decides, no ticket to support required.
Has anything like this failed before?
Yes. A platform called PledgeMusic collapsed in 2019 owing artists roughly nine million dollars because fan deposits were commingled with company operating funds. When the company ran out of money, so did the fans and artists waiting for payouts. SeatLock was designed specifically to make that structurally impossible: deposits are held separately, refunds are automatic, and SeatLock cannot access deposit accounts to fund its own operations.
What does 'automatic refund' actually mean?
SeatLock runs a daily automated job that checks every active campaign. Any campaign whose deposit window has passed without the show being confirmed is automatically closed and all fans are refunded — even if the artist never manually closes the campaign. No email to support, no form to submit. The refund appears on your original card within 5–10 business days.
Does SeatLock earn interest on my deposit while it's held?
No. SeatLock does not earn, accrue, or retain any interest on deposits. Our business model is a platform fee on confirmed shows, data licensing, and artist subscription tiers. None of these revenue streams require us to hold fan money longer than necessary — which means we have no financial incentive to delay refunds.
For the full legal terms governing deposits: