Cohley sends every creator payment through PayPal, so a working PayPal account is required to get paid. Here’s everything you need to know — connecting your account, verifying it, knowing when you’ve been paid, and what to do if something goes wrong.


1. Connecting your PayPal account

Don’t have a PayPal account yet? You’ll need one — PayPal is how Cohley sends every creator payment. Sign up for free at paypal.com (it takes a few minutes), then come back to Cohley and add the email associated with your new account using the steps below.


You’ll add your PayPal account when you first apply to a paid brief — Cohley will prompt you for it.

If you’ve already applied to (or been accepted to) a brief and need to add or update your PayPal email:

  1. Open the brief
  2. Find your PayPal email in your profile section within the brief
  3. Click the pencil edit icon next to it
  4. Enter or update the email associated with your PayPal account and save


If you’re not currently in an active brief, you don’t need to do anything — Cohley will ask for your PayPal email the next time you apply.


2. Verifying your PayPal account

A verified PayPal account is required for Cohley payments to process successfully. Without verification, your payments will be returned and you’ll have to chase them down — much easier to verify up front.

How to check if you’re verified:

  1. Log in to your PayPal account
  2. Visit paypal.com/businessmanage/account/verification
  3. If you see a message saying you’re not verified, you’ll need to complete the verification step

How to verify your PayPal:

  1. Log in to PayPal
  2. Follow PayPal’s verification steps — most commonly, this means linking and confirming a bank account
  3. Once verified, you’re good to receive Cohley payments


3. How you’ll know when you’ve been paid

Once the brand triggers your payment and Cohley dispatches it through PayPal, you’ll be notified in a few places:

  • Email from Cohley confirming the payment
  • Notification in your Cohley account
  • Timestamp in the brief chat marking when the brand paid you
  • Weekly Pulse email — payment highlights are surfaced here so you don’t have to keep checking

Your brief card will also update from Awaiting payment to Completed, and the brief moves to your Past tab. Payment status updates in real time on your side — there’s no delay before you see it.


4. If your payment is on hold from PayPal

Sometimes PayPal places a payment on hold — especially for new PayPal users or accounts set up as a business that sells physical products. PayPal may require extra confirmation before releasing the funds.

If PayPal sends you a notification asking about the transaction:

  • Select Service or Virtual Product (NOT Product) — that prevents a physical-product hold from being placed
  • Regardless of the reason, PayPal will release on-hold funds within 20 days

If you haven’t seen the funds after 20 days, contact PayPal customer support directly — Cohley can’t release a PayPal-side hold.


5. If your payment was denied or returned

Cohley tracks PayPal payment statuses, so if your payment was denied or returned, it’ll show as such in your brief. The two most common reasons:

  • Your PayPal account isn’t verified → see Section 2 above
  • The wrong PayPal email is on file → update it via the brief (see Section 1)

If your payment is returned, we will send a message via chat. This will confirm with the brand that they should try to send payment again. However, before that is done, YOU should make sure that the email address on file is accurate and that it is verified. 


6. Common questions

Q: I was paid the wrong amount.
Your pay rate is based on your follower tier and any negotiated rate for the brief. See I was not paid for the correct tier based on my follower count or Why was I paid in the wrong payment tier?


Q: Does Cohley or PayPal charge me a fee?
No. You receive 100% of your agreed compensation. See How will I get paid for my work if I’ve completed a paid brief?


Q: What about tax forms?
PayPal handles 1099s where applicable — Cohley doesn’t issue them. See Do I need to file any tax form for Cohley payments?


Still stuck?

Email support@cohley.com with the brand name, brief name, and a quick description of what’s happening. Include the PayPal email on your account so we can investigate quickly.