Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Main
💡 In simple words: The economy is how money moves on the platform. Small commissions on deals help pay for the tools and services everyone shares, keeping the whole community running fairly.
⚠️ Not yet approved. This page describes a proposal that is still under community review. It is documented here so it can be discussed, improved and endorsed.
Commissions
WikiDeal's Commission structure is built on one principle: at cost. The platform charges only what it needs to cover the real, auditable costs of processing Transactions, maintaining Infrastructure, and providing legal frameworks. There are no contributor returns embedded in the Commission rate, no "growth contribute to WikiDeal" skimming, and no algorithmic nudges designed to increase take rate over time.
Double Commission Structure
Every WikiDeal transaction carries a double commission: one part goes to the User Group operating the service, and one part goes to the WikiDeal platform itself. These two layers are distinct and transparent.
The total combined commission (User Group + WikiDeal platform) must be between 5% and 15% of the transaction value. Justified exceptions are possible in both directions — a lower rate may apply for civic or non-profit contexts, a higher rate may apply for complex or high-risk services — but any exception must be documented and approved through the Open Call process.
Example breakdown (10% total commission):
- User Group operating the service: ~7–8% (covers service coordination, dispute resolution, community management)
- WikiDeal platform: ~2–3% (covers infrastructure, legal frameworks, open-source maintenance)
The subscription fee is billed on top of the commission — not deducted from it.
Commission Trends
WikiDeal's applied research hypothesis is that, depending on configurations, commissions can be significantly reduced — by 10% to 90% compared to current market rates. For example, Uber currently charges between 10% and 50% depending on routes and configurations. WikiDeal's model could bring this down to between 1% and 15–20%, depending on community maturity, citizen participation levels, market complexity, service complexity, and available tools.
The exact commission is determined by the User Group operating each service vertical. For instance, a babysitting User Group in Geneva may set commissions at 8%, while a tutoring group in Nairobi may set them at 6% based on local infrastructure costs. The floor is set by actual transaction processing costs (payment processing, dispute resolution, platform maintenance), and the ceiling is bounded by the WikiDeal community standard, which can be reviewed through the Open Call process. These are **trends, not guarantees** — the exact reduction depends on each vertical and its specific conditions.
Transparency is non-negotiable. Every Commission charged is broken down publicly: what portion goes to payment processing, what to server costs, what to legal compliance, what to the Open Call contribute to WikiDeal, and what (if any) remains as buffer. If the buffer exceeds a defined threshold, the excess is automatically distributed back to the community through the standard Reward mechanism. There is no "profit centre" within WikiDeal's Commission structure.
Surplus Return
When Commission income exceeds verified operating costs, the surplus is returned to the community. This is not a discretionary policy decision — it is a structural rule embedded in the WikiDeal model. The surplus return mechanism operates quarterly: the foundation publishes audited cost accounts, the difference between income and costs is calculated, and the surplus is distributed through the community pool (Miles Credits and subsidized access).
This mechanism creates a powerful alignment: as the platform scales and per-Transaction costs fall (servers become cheaper per Transaction as volume grows), users benefit directly from economies of scale rather than watching them flow to shareholders. The more WikiDeal grows, the less each Transaction costs, and the more of the Transaction value stays with the parties to the Transaction.
See also: