CommitPay

Stake money on a habit. Fake the proof, lose the stake.

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Inspiration

Quitting is hard when nothing is on the line. Trackers nag; CommitPay makes missing expensive and faking hard — while still leaving one honest door for life happening.

What it does

CommitPay is a payment agent, not another habit tracker. You authorize a PayPal hold on a pledge; an AI checks your proof each period — pass and the hold is voided, fail and we capture and pay out to the charity or friend you named.

  1. Create a pledge: amount, habit goal, proof type, beneficiary (charity or friend PayPal email).
  2. PayPal Orders AUTHORIZE holds the stake — money moves only when the AI says so.
  3. Submit proof (photo, activity link, GitHub link, or screenshot).
  4. Groq judge + filename anti-cheat: accept → void; reject → capture + Payouts to the beneficiary, with reasons in the UI. The judge is text-only (goal, note, and filename); it does not look at the image pixels.
  5. One Escape-hatch AI interview per pledge for true emergencies; second use or fail = payout.
  6. Stark AG Grid dashboard: money at risk, streak, proof history, payout log.

The reject path is verified in PayPal sandbox: authorize a hold, reject stock/reused proof, capture, then Payouts to the sandbox beneficiary. Confirmed November 6, 2026 with a $10 payout (batch MZ4342D2ZHUKU) after a “Gym 3× this week” reject.

How we built it

Next.js (App Router) + TypeScript + Tailwind on Vercel Hobby + Turso ($0). PayPal REST: authorize / void / capture, Payouts, webhooks. Groq text model (qwen/qwen3.8-27b) for the judge and escape interview. AG Grid Community for the accountability board. Solo builder, $0 stack, PayPal sandbox for the hackathon.

Challenges we ran into

Getting the money path right before polish: authorize → void vs capture → payout, webhook truth, and a sandbox beneficiary that can actually receive Payouts (self-pay and country-blocked accounts failed until we used a US sandbox Business recipient).

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • End-to-end stake hold, reject, capture, and payout in sandbox.
  • Anti-cheat reject with visible reasons.
  • One escape-hatch interview that can void without proof.
  • Demo path that shows fake loss, emergency forgive, and real pass.

What we learned

Accountability products win when the payment rail is the product. AI is the referee; PayPal is the consequence.

What's next for CommitPay

Buddy dual-stake, adaptive stakes, and coach nudges — only after the money path stays boringly reliable.

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