TikTok launches new ‘Tips’ feature so creators can get paid directly

TikTok is introducing more ways for content creators to earn money from the platform. One of the new creator-focused features is called “Tips” that will allow creators to get paid directly by their fans and viewers.

The slate of new creator tools was announced on Wednesday and will be released under TikTok’s Creator Next program, including Tips. Similar to how tips are given and received in the real world, the company said viewers can send tips directly to their favorite TikTokers and the short-form video platform will not take any cuts from tips received. “Creators will receive 100% of the tip value,” TikTok said in a blog post.

Creators who will join the program will have a dedicated “Tips” icon on their profile page. This will redirect viewers to a “Tips & supporters” page, where they can see the usernames of followers and viewers who have already sent a tip and how much they gave to the creator.

TikTok showed a sample of the said page and it also includes a “Send Tips” button at the bottom of the screen. Once viewers press that, they can choose from three preset amounts ($5, $10, and $15) or they can also enter a custom amount. Tippers can opt to send money anonymously. Payments will be processed through Stripe.

“TikTok strives to provide an environment where viewers feel safe showing their support for creators,” the company said. For that reason, TikTok noted that tippers can enter a custom tip amount of up to $100 only per transaction. Every user will have a limit of $500 tips to give per day. Tip transactions per day are also capped at 100 for every viewer.

As with other Creator Next tools, creators need to qualify and meet some requirements to be eligible to use the Tips feature, including opting in to the Creator Next program. Unfortunately, the Tips feature is only available to creators with an already-established page with at least 100,000 followers.

Creators need to be 18 years old and above and be based in the United States to qualify. The account also has to be “in good standing with Community Guidelines” for TikTokers to use the Tips tool.

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash