Payment Update Release Timeline

From May 27th to June 9th, 2026 Melee is going to be changing the way tournament payments work. This change will happen in 2 phases.

The TL;DR

  • Organizers will get their money much faster!
  • Platform and processing fees are staying the same at 8.99%. (Lower for non-USD, except JPY.)
  • Melee won’t take PayPal payments anymore. (Except for JPY which will still require Paypal.)

Currently

Organizers*

  • Link their PayPal account.
  • Set the entry fee to their events.
  • Are reimbursed for any tournament entry fees the week after the event.

Melee

  • Adds a platform and processing fees to the event and charges organizers refund fees.
  • Accepts the payments by PayPal and Stripe processors into our account.
  • Reimburses the organizer the week after the event.

From May 27th to June 8th (Stripe Disabled)

Organizers*

  • Will only be able to take payments if they had a PayPal account linked BEFORE May 27th.
  • Create and/or link a Stripe account, to be able to accept payments after June 9th.
  • Set the entry fee to their events.
  • Are reimbursed for any tournament entry fees the week after the event.

Melee

  • Adds platform and processing fees to the event and charges organizers refund fees.
  • Accepts the payments by PayPal processor into our account.
  • Reimburses the organizer the week after the event.

After June 9th (PayPal Disabled, Direct Stripe Payments Only)

Organizers*

  • Create and/or link a Stripe account.
  • Set the entry fee to their events.
  • Tournament entries are deposited into the organizer’s account once they are processed.

Melee

  • Platform fees for the event are deposited into Melee’s account.
  • Does not hold the entry fee money. It is never in our account.

*Note: This only applies to organizers who wish to accept payments through Melee.

Exceptions to Stripe only usage after June 9th

  • If an organizer is unable to create a stripe account, they can reach out to Melee support to request an exception. If an exception is granted, the old reimbursement system will be used with only Paypal as a payment option.
  • The old PayPal reimbursement system will be used for events that charge an entry fee in Japanese Yen and organizers will be required to link a PayPal account to accept payments in Japanese Yen.