Menu

Keep your cards. Risky buys wait.

When Parkinson's medicine brings urges to buy.

For people with Parkinson's or restless legs on a dopamine agonist, and their families. Normal purchases go straight through. Risky ones go on hold, not taken, for a calm second look.

Sign in

No sign up. The demo uses PayPal's sandbox, so no real money moves.

Built on PayPal

  • Vault
  • Orders
  • Webhooks
  • Subscriptions
  • MCP

The medicine helps. For some, it brings urges to buy.

Dopamine agonists help with movement in Parkinson's and treat restless legs. For some people, they also bring strong urges to buy or gamble.

  • 52% vs 12%

    had impulse control problems within five years. People with Parkinson's who ever took a dopamine agonist, compared with those who never did. Buying is one kind, along with gambling, eating and others.

    Corvol et al., 2018. A study of 411 people in France. Source: Corvol et al., 2018

  • 5.7%

    had compulsive buying, among 3,090 people treated for Parkinson's in the US and Canada.

    Weintraub et al., 2010, the DOMINION study. Source: Weintraub et al., 2010

  • Savings and homes

    Families told the BBC they had "lost their life savings or even their homes" to compulsive gambling, shopping and other behaviors.

    BBC investigation, February 13, 2026. Source: BBC investigation, February 13, 2026

A common tip is to ask someone you trust to keep your cards safe. It stops the risky buys, and every other buy too. Steady is the middle ground.

The tip is from Parkinson's UK, 2025. Source: Parkinson's UK, 2025

How it works

  1. Make a pact on a good day.

    When the medicine starts or the dose goes up, you and someone you trust agree what counts as risky: late nights, repeat buys, collecting, new shops, gambling and big amounts. It runs 3, 6 or 12 months, then ends on its own.

  2. On hold, not taken.

    Normal purchases go straight through with your saved PayPal. A risky one is put on hold with PayPal. Nothing is taken until someone decides, and if nobody does, the hold is released.

  3. Morning review.

    Bought something at 2:14 a.m.? It waits for you in the morning. Keep it or let it go. No countdown.

  4. A second look from your partner.

    Big or repeated buys go to your partner, with a calm note. They approve, or release the hold. You see everything they see.

  5. A summary for your care team.

    Your buying patterns next to your dose changes, on one plain page. Share it with your nurse or doctor if you choose. It's not a diagnosis.

    The charts in the app are free. The summary you share with your care team is part of the $8 plan.

Built on PayPal

Every step that touches money runs on PayPal.

  • Saved PayPal.

    Approve once with PayPal. After that, pay with a press and hold. No login each time.

    PayPal Vault

  • Payment holds and captures.

    Each purchase starts as a PayPal authorization. Normal ones are captured at once. Risky ones stay on hold until someone decides, then PayPal captures or voids them.

    Orders v2, intent AUTHORIZE

  • Refunds.

    Money for a returned purchase goes back through PayPal.

    PayPal refunds

  • Webhooks.

    PayPal tells us each time money moves. We check that every message really came from PayPal before we act on it.

    Verified webhooks

  • Subscriptions.

    The $8 plan is a PayPal subscription. It stops on its own when your pact ends.

    PayPal Subscriptions

  • PayPal's MCP server.

    When your partner asks "Has it shipped?", the AI reads the answer from PayPal's order and tracking records. Read only.

    PayPal MCP server

The demo runs on PayPal's sandbox. No real money moves.

Where AI helps, and where it doesn't

Where AI helps

  • Spots collecting, like a fourth tablet in nine days.
  • Explains each hold in plain words.
  • Writes your partner a calm note, with a kind way to start the talk.
  • Chooses what your care team summary highlights. Steady writes the words, using only numbers it counted.
  • Answers your partner's questions from Steady and PayPal records.
  • Suggests which other protections to set up first.

Where it doesn't

  • It never moves money. Only a person's press and hold, or a fixed rule, does that.
  • It never lets a purchase through. Your pact's rules decide. AI can only ask for a closer look.
  • It never diagnoses. It shows patterns. Your care team decides what they mean.
  • It never sees your name or email.
  • If it's down, protection keeps working, with written notes instead.

Run a shop?

Offer "PayPal, protected by Steady" at checkout. Built to cut regret returns and disputes, and to care for buyers who asked for it. Free during the pilot.

For shops

Protection is free. Always.

The pact, holds, morning review and partner approvals cost nothing. The $8 a month plan adds the AI help. Free for 14 days, no card needed, and it stops when your pact ends.

$0
Everything that keeps money safe.
$8 a month
Adds the AI help.
See pricing

Questions?

Can I still pay somewhere else? Yes. Here's what Steady covers, and what it doesn't.

Read the FAQ
Can I still pay somewhere else?

Yes. We'd rather say it plainly.

Steady only covers purchases paid with PayPal through Steady. Today that means our demo shop. Real shops can join our pilot. Your other cards, other shops, and your own PayPal account outside Steady are not covered.

So Steady also helps you close other doors, if you want to. Guided setup walks you through protections you may already have, for example:

  • PayPal's Gambling Block, in the UK
  • gambling and online spending blocks in your banking app
  • card alerts, sent to you or your partner
  • purchase approval in app stores
  • turning off one click buying at big stores

What we hope PayPal builds next: a second look inside every PayPal wallet, next to its Gambling Block. That block already waits 3 days before it can be switched off. With a second look built in, a pact would reach every shop that takes PayPal.

Is this a lock?

No. You keep paying for normal things yourself. Only purchases that match your own rules wait for a second look, and you can always let one go.

You can loosen the rules or end the pact early. The change takes effect 72 hours after you ask, and your partner can't block it. The wait is there so a choice made at 2 a.m. gets a night's sleep too.

What does "on hold, not taken" mean?

When a purchase is on hold, PayPal has placed a hold on the amount, but the shop hasn't been paid.

  • If you keep it, or your partner approves it, PayPal takes the payment and the shop ships it.
  • If it's let go, PayPal releases the hold and nothing is taken.

While it's on hold, the amount may show as pending in your PayPal account or at your bank. PayPal releases a hold at once, but your bank may take a few days to show it.

What does my partner see?

You choose, in a setting called "What your partner sees."

  • By default: purchases sent to them for a second look, plus weekly totals. Totals show how many purchases and how much, and how many night buys were kept or let go. No item details from your own morning reviews or everyday purchases.
  • Or: everything.

You see everything your partner sees, including any questions they put to Ask Steady. Showing more takes effect at once. Showing less takes 72 hours.

Does the AI decide?

No. Your pact's rules decide, in plain code.

The AI can do one thing to a decision: if it sees a collection building, it can send a purchase for a closer look. It can never let through a purchase your rules would hold.

It never moves money. Only a person's press and hold, or a fixed rule like "release the hold after 48 hours," does that.

On the $8 plan, AI writes the reasons, the notes and the answers. For your summary, the AI chooses what to highlight, and Steady writes the words. Without the plan, or if the AI is down, the rules still work and the notes come from written templates.

Is my medicine data private?

Your medicine, doses and dates are yours.

  • You and your partner can see them. Your care team sees them only if you share a summary link or a printout. Links stop working after 30 days, and you can delete one sooner.
  • The AI sees medicine, dose and dates only to choose what your summary highlights, and Steady writes the words. The AI never sees your name, email, address or PayPal details.
  • We don't sell your data, and we don't show ads.
  • You can download everything, or delete everything, any time in Settings.

Read our privacy page