diff --git a/src/utils/payout.ts b/src/utils/payout.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e3a463
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/payout.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+
+export interface PayoutMetadata {
+  contributor_id: string;
+  pr_url: string;
+  amount_usdc: number;
+  timestamp: number;
+}
+
+export function validateMetadata(metadata: any): PayoutMetadata {
+  if (typeof metadata !== 'object' || metadata === null) {
+    throw new Error('Metadata must be an object.');
+  }
+  if (typeof metadata.contributor_id !== 'string') {
+    throw new Error('contributor_id must be a string.');
+  }
+  if (typeof metadata.pr_url !== 'string') {
+    throw new Error('pr_url must be a string.');
+  }
+  if (typeof metadata.amount_usdc !== 'number') {
+    throw new Error('amount_usdc must be a number.');
+  }
+  if (typeof metadata.timestamp !== 'number') {
+    throw new Error('timestamp must be a number.');
+  }
+  return metadata as PayoutMetadata;
+}