Who runs SettleDesk, and how

Who we are

We're a small editorial desk of people who ran cross-border e-commerce ourselves (Amazon FBA, an independent Shopify store, and a stretch of POD and dropshipping) across exactly the kind of markets we now write about. We spent years losing money to FX margins we didn't understand and an account freeze we didn't see coming. This site is the reference we wish we'd had.

We're an editorial team, not a single guru, and we don't pretend otherwise. Guides are written and reviewed collectively and published under "the SettleDesk desk." We're happy to answer specific questions at [email protected].

How we research

• Primary sources first. Fees, policies and rules come from providers' own pages, regulators, and official documentation, not from other blogs. Where we cite a figure that matters, we link it.
• We test what we can. Where it's practical, we run real transfers and reconcile what actually landed against what was promised. The worked examples in our guides come from that habit.
• We mark dates. Every guide carries a "checked" date, and we note the year on time-sensitive figures. Payout policies and FX rates change constantly.
• We review quarterly. Core guides get a scheduled re-check. If something's changed, we update the page and the date; we don't quietly let figures rot.
• We say when we're unsure. Ranges are presented as ranges. "Indicative" means indicative. We'd rather be honestly approximate than falsely precise.

The boundary we won't cross

This is a payments and settlement site, not an investing site. We explain how to move and convert money you've already earned. We do not predict currency or crypto prices, recommend assets to hold for gain, promise returns, or coach speculation. When a guide mentions a crypto exchange, it's strictly as a tool for the convert step, with its risks stated plainly, never as an investment.

Affiliate & sponsorship disclosure

Start with what sponsorship cannot buy here: a verdict. If a sponsor is the wrong tool for a job, we write that it is the wrong tool, in the same paragraph that names it. Everything below describes what the site actually does, and matches the code as of July 2026.

• Every sponsored placement carries a label reading "Sponsored" or "Affiliate", and appears inside a real comparison alongside its genuine drawbacks. No silent endorsements.
• OKX is currently our only sponsor, positioned strictly as one tool for the convert step after a payout. It is not an asset we suggest holding, and we make no price predictions.
• Two pages carry a sponsored link, and no others: the fee tables and their Chinese counterpart. Guides, market pages, the freeze playbook, the KYC guide, listings and the 404 carry none. The home page shows a copyable invite code and no outbound link at all.
• Those links are plain in-page links to okx.com. There is no interstitial, no exit page and no page of ours in between; no meta refresh and no JavaScript redirect. Markup is rel="nofollow sponsored noopener noreferrer" with target="_blank".
• The commission is a share of trading fees, up to 20%, floating with whatever OKX's affiliate terms say at the time. We do not quote it as fixed or permanent, it costs you nothing extra, and it moves no number in the fee tables.

If we ever can't be honest about a sponsor, we'll drop the sponsorship before we drop the honesty.

Safety & anti-scam stance

A recurring theme across our guides: the cheapest-looking shortcut is often the most expensive. We actively warn against no-KYC repatriation schemes, "street rate" FX deals, fake account-recovery agents, and anyone promising guaranteed returns on held balances. Real settlement is documented, KYC-compliant, and a little boring. That's the point.

Corrections & contact

Spotted a fee that's out of date or a rule we got wrong? Tell us, we'd rather fix it than defend it. Email [email protected] with the page and the detail, and we'll review it against the primary source.