Refund Policy
Last updated: September 16, 2026
First Dollar is operated by Sketch Labs L.L.C-FZ (License No. 2420007.01), Meydan Free Zone, Dubai, UAE ("First Dollar", "we", "our", "us"). This policy explains when funds paid to First Dollar can be returned, how to request a refund, and the limited circumstances in which a refund is no longer possible. It forms part of our Terms & Conditions.
1. What this policy covers
First Dollar does not sell goods or subscriptions. The only payments we take are from Sponsors funding a bounty or campaign prize pool. This policy therefore applies to Sponsors.
Users who complete bounties are not purchasers — they receive payouts. Payouts are covered in section 6.
2. How campaign funding works
A campaign cannot be published until its prize pool is funded. At funding time a Sponsor pays the prize pool plus our platform fee, either by card or on-chain, and the prize pool is held in escrow until winners are paid or the campaign is cancelled. Because funds are held rather than spent, an unawarded prize pool can be returned.
3. How to request a refund
Refunds are not issued on request in isolation. A refund is the result of cancelling a funded campaign, so a Sponsor cancels the campaign and gives a reason, and the refund follows automatically from that decision. This keeps every returned payment tied to a recorded cancellation.
The campaign owner can submit a cancellation from the campaign itself. Campaigns still in draft have never been funded or charged and should be deleted rather than cancelled.
4. When a refund is approved
- Before the campaign goes live. If the campaign is awaiting approval or approved but not yet published, cancellation is accepted immediately and the refund is initiated straight away. No review is needed.
- While the campaign is live. If the campaign is published, open, or in review, cancellation is submitted to our team for review, because creators may already be working on submissions. If we approve the cancellation, the refund is initiated on approval.
5. When a refund is not available
Once prize money has been committed to the people who earned it, it can no longer be returned to the Sponsor. A campaign cannot be cancelled or refunded where:
- Winners have been announced, or a winner announcement is being finalised on-chain.
- Any payout to a winner is pending or has been sent.
- The campaign is already completed or already cancelled.
If you believe a campaign was cancelled or awarded in error, contact us at [email protected] rather than attempting to cancel it.
6. How refunds are returned
- Card payments. Refunded in full — prize pool and platform fee — to the original card through our payment processor. We do not refund to a different card or account. The credit typically appears within 5–10 business days, depending on your card issuer and network.
- On-chain funding. The escrowed prize pool is returned on-chain to the wallet that funded the escrow. It cannot be redirected to a different address. Release requires approval on our multi-signature treasury, so it is not instantaneous.
Partial refunds are not offered. A cancellation returns the full unawarded amount.
7. Payouts to Users are final
Payouts released to a User's wallet, and any withdrawal a User makes from that wallet, are final. On-chain transactions are irreversible and we cannot reverse, recall, or reissue them. Users are responsible for the accuracy of any withdrawal details they provide.
Where a payout has not yet been released, we may hold or withhold it in line with our Terms & Conditions, Acceptable Use Policy, and AML/CTF Policy — for example where verification or sanctions screening is required and has not cleared.
8. If a refund fails
If a refund cannot be completed — for example because a card authorisation has expired or an on-chain transaction does not settle — the cancellation still stands and the refund is recorded as failed and retried by our team. Contact [email protected] if a refund has not reached you within the timeframes above.
9. Disputes and chargebacks
If you believe a charge is incorrect, please contact us first so we can resolve it directly. Where a card payment is disputed with the issuer, the disputed funding is locked and the associated campaign is frozen until the dispute is resolved, and no further funding can be taken against it in the meantime.
10. Changes
We may update this policy. For material changes we will provide reasonable notice. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.