"I'll also earn from my friend's friend" — when you hear that sentence, raise a red flag. After Turkey's Law 2023/89 reform, multi-tier affiliate structures were swept under pyramid-sales legislation and banned. thMenu deliberately runs a single-tier model: every restaurant you refer earns you 20% commission on each monthly payment, with no extra tier commissions from sub-referrals.
The Legal Framework: Law 2023/89
The 2023 amendment to Turkey's Consumer Protection Law brought any marketing structure that promised income across "more than one level" under the "pyramid sales" category. The upper penalty is a 100,000 TRY administrative fine plus activity suspension. Throughout 2024, BTK and the Ministry of Trade shut down 6 digital platforms.
A single-tier model — where you earn only from your direct referral — falls outside this law because there is no multi-level cascade or "downline." thMenu's affiliate agreement explicitly states "first-degree referral only".
Examples of Banned Platforms
The 6 platforms blocked or shuttered in 2024 carried these red flags:
- Two+ levels of commission ("earn 5% from your referral's referral")
- Membership fees (upfront payment to become an affiliate — a classic pyramid sign)
- Bonuses tied to recruit count, not to product sales
thMenu has none: free application, immediate coupon after KYC, commission tied solely to genuine restaurant subscription revenue.
Staying Legal as a Creator
When picking an affiliate program, read the contract carefully: any structure with the words "tier bonus," "matrix plan," "binary plan," or "unilevel" falls inside 2023/89. "Lifetime" commission (as long as your referral stays subscribed) is legal — lifetime and tier are not the same concept.
thMenu's baseline is 20% lifetime, and Phase 2's tier-up system can automatically lift you to 22-25% based on your own 90-day performance. That is a performance-based bonus on your own work, not anyone else's effort.
FAQ
Does the tier-up system count as pyramid? No. Tier-up depends on your direct referral volume (X TRY in 90 days → tier 2). Another affiliate's performance does not affect yours.
Why are "refer-the-referrer" bonus models banned? Because revenue flows from recruiting new "members," not from real customer purchases. The structure collapses by design.
What are my tax obligations? Affiliate income is declared as freelance or commercial income. thMenu issues a year-end income summary; US-based affiliates earning $600+ annually receive a 1099-NEC automatically.
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