Settling up

When a real-money pot resolves, the people who owe pay the people who are owed, directly. kapiche just keeps the receipts, so paying up (or not) shows on your reputation.

Settlement on kapiche is peer-to-peer: when a pot resolves, players send each other money directly, and kapiche records who settled up. That record is what makes the next pot possible, because it shows everyone who is good for it. See Security & non-custodial.

How settlement works

Every real-money pot follows the same five beats: it resolves, you see what you owe, you pay, the payment is confirmed, and your Settle Score updates. Here is each step, shown.

The pot resolves

The chosen referee calls the result, and kapiche works out who owes whom. Losers owe winners their stake, split across the winners in proportion to what each one put in.

You see what you owe

If you are on the hook, a You owe list appears on your home dashboard and in your wallet, with one tap to settle each debt.

Pay them directly

Open the debt and pay in USDC straight from your wallet, or pay with Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal. Either way the money goes person to person.

It gets confirmed

A USDC transfer is verified automatically onchain the moment it lands. A cash-app payment is confirmed by the person you paid. Either one marks the debt settled.

Your Settle Score updates

Settling lifts your Settles up reputation. Paying fast keeps it high; leaving debts open drags it down, as shown below.

A You owe list with a 2 to settle badge and two debt rows: You owe Marcus $25 and You owe Dee $12, each with a Settle button. — Step 2: open debts surface on your dashboard with a one-tap Settle.

The Settle the pot modal: You owe Marcus $25, a green Settle $25 in USDC button, and an or pay with cash row of Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal. — Step 3: pay in USDC in one tap, or with Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal. No escrow, no middleman.

Two ways to pay, two ways to confirm

How a debt closes depends on the rail you choose. Crypto is instant and self-proving; a cash app needs the other person to confirm they got it.

USDC: verified onchain

One tap sends USDC straight to the other player. kapiche reads the public ledger to confirm the exact transfer landed, then marks the debt settled. No one has to do anything else.

Cash app: confirmed by them

Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal opens prefilled. You pay, you tap I sent it, and the debt stays open until the person you paid confirms they received it.

A Settled! confirmation with a green check, $25.00 sent to Marcus, and a View transaction link. — Pay in USDC and it settles instantly, verified onchain, with a link to the transaction.

A Confirm payments received card: Dee says they sent you $12.00 via Venmo, with a Confirm receipt button. — Paid by cash app? The person you paid confirms receipt, which settles the debt and builds your Settle Score.

You send every payment yourself

You sign every USDC settlement yourself, and you send every cash payment yourself. Nothing settles until you make the payment.

What happens if you do not settle

Settling is on you, and the cost of not paying is reputational and public. Your Settles up reputation is a trust verdict, not a number, and it is computed straight from your real-money debts:

Reliable (green): you have paid at least 90% of what you owed, and you pay fast (within about two days).
Slow (yellow): you pay, but you take your time.
Flaky (red flag): less than 70% of your debts are settled. This is the lowest tier, and it is the one people see first.
New: no real-money history yet. Unproven, so reputation-gated pots treat you the same as Flaky until you build a record.

Every debt you leave open counts against the percentage, so one unsettled pot can tip you from Reliable into Flaky. The hit shows up everywhere your name appears.

A reputation card in the Flaky tier: a red Flaky flag, 40% paid, 3 currently owed, and Owes $45 across open settlements. — Duck your debts and your profile says so: a red Flaky flag, the percent you have paid, and exactly how much you still owe.

It is not only cosmetic. A host can limit a real-money pot to players with a solid settle reputation. If yours is too low, you are blocked from joining until you clear your open debts. Flaky and New players are turned away from those pots.

A You can't join this pot yet modal: the host limited this pot to members with a solid settle reputation, with a Settle to qualify button. — The punishment in practice: a low Settle Score locks you out of reputation-gated pots until you settle up.

Pay up to stay in the game

Settle your open debts to keep a clean Settle Score. Friends can see who follows through, and some pots only admit players who do. The fastest way back from Flaky is simple: pay what you owe.

Why settling up builds trust

Without escrow, the thing that makes real-money pots work is trust, and kapiche makes that trust visible. Settles up is your trust axis: it reflects whether you pay what you owe, on time. A clean record looks like this:

A reputation card in the Reliable tier: a green Reliable badge, 100% paid, a fast typical pace, plus verified-onchain and payee-confirmed counts. — Pay up and pay fast, and your profile shows a green Reliable badge with 100% paid.

Settles up (the trust axis)

Tracks whether you follow through on real-money pots: the percent you have paid, how fast, and how much you still owe. Good for it? It shows on your profile.

Oracle accuracy (the skill axis)

A separate measure of how often you call it right, across points and real money alike. It never gates a real-money join; only Settles up does.

Paying promptly lifts your Settles up standing toward Reliable.
Ducking what you owe drags it toward Flaky, where friends can see.
Together with Oracle accuracy, it tells the full story: can you call it, and do you back it up.

FAQ

Does kapiche move the money for me?

No. You pay the other player directly, in USDC from your own wallet or through a cash app. kapiche only records that the settlement happened.

How is a USDC payment confirmed?

Automatically. When you send USDC, kapiche checks the public Solana ledger to confirm the exact amount went from your wallet to theirs, then marks the debt settled and links the transaction. Nobody has to confirm it by hand.

How is a cash-app payment confirmed?

The person you paid confirms it. After you pay through Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal and tap I sent it, the debt waits in their Confirm payments received list. When they confirm, it settles and updates your Settle Score.

What if someone does not pay?

There is no escrow to fall back on, so this is why reputation matters. Every unsettled debt lowers their Settles up score toward Flaky, shows on their profile, and can block them from reputation-gated pots, so people know who follows through before they play.

Can I get blocked from a pot for not settling?

Yes. Hosts can require a solid settle reputation. Flaky and New players are turned away until they clear their open debts. Settle up and you qualify again.

Will I ever pay without confirming?

No. Every settlement is a payment you send and confirm yourself.