Payments and Pricing

How Pricing Works

Hosts set three pricing tiers for their items:

Option	Best For
Daily rate	Short rentals (1-2 days)
3-day rate	Weekend rentals
7-day rate	Weekly rentals (best value)

The total cost is calculated based on your rental duration and the applicable rate.

Price Breakdown

When you rent an item, your total includes:

• Subtotal - The base rental cost
• Service fee - A small fee that helps keep Curba running
• Taxes - Provincial sales tax (HST/GST) based on your location
• Security deposit - A hold on your card that's released after the rental (if applicable, depends on item category)

How Payments Work

Curba uses Stripe for secure payment processing. Your payment information is never stored on our servers.

For Renters

1. Payment is authorized when you click Pay Now after the host accepts
2. The amount is held (not charged) until you confirm pickup
3. Payment is captured when you click Confirm Pickup
4. Security deposit (if any) is held separately and released after the booking completes

For Hosts

1. When the renter picks up the item, payment is captured
2. Your earnings (subtotal minus host fee) are deposited to your Stripe Connect account
3. You can withdraw your balance at any time from Profile > Transactions

When Will I Be Charged? (Renter Payment Timing)

Curba uses a two-step payment flow designed to protect both you and the host. Here's exactly what happens to your card and when:

Step 1 - Authorization (when you click "Pay Now")

The moment you confirm payment, Curba authorizes your card for the full booking total plus the security deposit (if applicable). This puts a hold on your card - the funds are reserved but not transferred. You'll see a pending charge on your bank app, but no money has actually moved.

If your card has a low limit, the hold reduces your available credit until it's released or captured.

Step 2 - Capture (when you confirm pickup)

When you click Confirm Pickup in the app, the rental amount is captured - at this moment the money actually transfers from your card. Your bank statement will switch the pending hold to a posted charge labeled something like:

CURBA*<host name or short ref>

The receipt is emailed to you immediately (see Receipts below).

Step 3 - Deposit hold (held throughout the rental)

If your booking included a security deposit, it stays on hold separately throughout the rental period. The deposit is never charged unless the host files an approved damage claim. As soon as the booking completes successfully (host clicks Confirm Return), the deposit hold is released. It can take up to 5 business days for your bank to fully reflect the released hold - this is on the bank's side, not Curba's.

Cancellation timing

If you cancel before pickup, the cancellation policy on the listing determines how much (if any) is captured. The rest of the hold is released. See Cancellation Policies.

What you'll see on your statement

Step	What appears	Status
You click Pay Now	Pending charge for total + deposit	Hold (no money moved)
You confirm pickup	Posted charge for rental total	Captured
Booking completes	Deposit hold falls off (1–5 business days)	Released
Damage claim approved	Posted charge for the deposit (in part or full)	Captured

If a charge looks wrong or you don't recognize it, open the booking page first - it'll show the breakdown. If still unclear, email support@curba.app.

Is It Safe to Pay Through Curba?

Yes. Payments on Curba are processed end-to-end by Stripe - the same payment infrastructure used by companies like Shopify, Lyft, Instacart, and Salesforce.

What this means in practice

• Curba never sees or stores your card number. When you enter card details at checkout, they go directly from your browser to Stripe through an encrypted, isolated form. Curba's own servers only ever see a token (e.g. pm_1Q...) that lets us trigger payments - but that token can't be used to make charges anywhere outside Curba.
• PCI DSS compliance is handled by Stripe. Stripe is a PCI Service Provider Level 1 - the highest level of certification in the payments industry, the same level required of Visa and Mastercard.
• Card data is encrypted in transit and at rest. All connections to Curba and Stripe use TLS 1.2+ encryption.
• 3D Secure / two-factor at checkout. When your bank or card requires it, Stripe automatically prompts you to verify the payment with your bank (e.g. SMS code or in-app approval). This protects you against unauthorized charges.
• Stripe runs continuous fraud monitoring on every transaction. Suspicious payments are blocked before the charge ever reaches your card.
• You're protected by your card issuer. Most credit and debit cards in Canada include zero-liability protection for unauthorized purchases. Curba's flow is fully compatible with chargebacks and disputes.

What Curba does on top

• Identity verification (Stripe Identity) before users can host or rent reduces fraud risk on both sides
• Two-step payment flow (hold → capture only on pickup) means you're not charged for items you never receive
• Refundable deposits, never charged unless claims are approved, never held off-platform
• All money flows through Curba's regulated Stripe Connect platform - hosts cannot ask you to pay outside the app. If a host ever asks you to pay through Interac, e-transfer, PayPal, or any other method, report them through the booking page or email support@curba.app.

What you should do as a renter

• Always pay through the app's checkout. Off-platform payments aren't covered by Curba's protection or insurance.
• Use a credit card if possible - credit cards offer the strongest fraud protection.
• Keep your account email and password secure - your account password also protects your saved payment methods.
• Report anything suspicious - see the Report this rental button on any booking page.

Saved Payment Methods

You can save your card for faster checkout on future rentals. Saved cards are stored securely by Stripe and can be managed from the payment dialog.

Receipts

After your rental is captured (when you confirm pickup), Curba - through Stripe - automatically emails you a receipt to the email address on your Curba account. The receipt includes:

• Date and amount charged
• The last four digits of the card used
• A short description of the rental
• A link to a hosted PDF you can save or print

You can also access the receipt at any time from your booking page:

1. Open the booking from My Bookings > View Inquiry
2. Click the Receipt button next to the booking actions
3. The receipt opens in a new tab - you can download it as a PDF from there

The Receipt button is visible only to the renter, and only once the rental has been picked up (when the actual charge is captured).

If you don't see a receipt email after pickup, check your spam folder. If it still hasn't arrived, contact support@curba.app with your booking ID and we'll resend it.

Need a formal invoice for business expenses? The hosted Stripe receipt is sufficient for personal expense tracking and most reimbursement workflows. For tax-style invoices with company name and tax ID, contact support@curba.app - we'll be rolling out business invoicing soon.

Security Deposits

Some item categories require a security deposit as protection against damage or loss:

• The deposit is a hold on your card, not a charge
• The hold amount depends on the item's protection tier and value
• The hold is released automatically after the booking completes successfully
• If there's a claim for damage, the deposit may be partially or fully captured