How Payments Work on Zoooom

1. How Zoooom payments work

A Zoooom car sale is settled in two parts: a secure online payment that locks the deal, and the balance paid in person at handoff.

Online, through Zoooom, the buyer pays up to $1,000 toward the car plus Zoooom's $100 service fee. Think of it as a protected deposit: it's paid by card, debit, pay-over-time, or bank wire, it's processed securely by Stripe, and it commits both sides to the deal. The moment it clears, the seller receives it — paid out instantly (more on that in section 7).

The remaining balance is paid in person when buyer and seller meet for the handoff — typically in cash, or whatever method the two of you agree to. You inspect the car, exchange the balance, sign the title and bill of sale, and both tap "Confirm handoff" in the app.

Why split it this way? Keeping the online amount to a $1,000 deposit gives you a fast, low-friction, fraud-resistant way to lock a deal without moving a car's full price over card rails (which carry chargeback risk and processing costs). It also means Zoooom can absorb 100% of the processing fees — the buyer pays no surcharge and the seller receives every dollar of the online amount. See section 5 for the reasoning behind the cap.

2. The Zoooom service fee, explained

Every transaction on Zoooom includes a $100 flat service fee paid by the buyer online. It's the same regardless of vehicle price and the same regardless of payment method — card, debit, pay-over-time, or bank wire. It's waived only for a pure cash deal, where no money flows through Zoooom.

The service fee covers:

• Identity verification (KYC) of both buyer and seller
• VIN-level vehicle ownership verification
• Document authentication and forgery checks
• All payment processing fees — Zoooom absorbs them so neither side is charged
• Instant payouts to sellers, including the instant-payout cost
• Title transfer support and the in-app Deal Center where buyer and seller close the deal
• Customer support before, during, and after the transaction
• Chargeback and dispute defense — Zoooom contests disputes on the seller's behalf and reviews every chargeback for reimbursement

3. Payment methods

The online portion of a Zoooom deal (up to $1,000 toward the car, plus the $100 fee) can be paid four ways. Whichever you choose, Zoooom covers the processing fee — there is never a surcharge to the buyer or a deduction from the seller.

• Credit card — instant authorization and full card-network buyer protections (fraud monitoring, dispute rights). The most common choice.
• Debit card — works exactly like a credit card at checkout; funds draw straight from the buyer's bank. Same price to the buyer, same instant confirmation.
• Pay over time (Klarna / Affirm) — split the online payment into installments while the seller is still paid in full, up front. Approval and terms are set by the provider at checkout.
• Bank wire — a bank-to-bank transfer, available until 2:00 PM Pacific each day so it can settle same day (see section 6).

The balance at handoff is paid in person — cash is typical, but buyer and seller are free to agree on any method for that portion.

4. Zoooom covers all processing fees

Card networks and payment processors charge a fee on every electronic payment — typically around 2.9% + $0.30, and more for some methods. On most marketplaces that fee is passed to the seller (deducted from payout) or to the buyer (added as a surcharge).

On Zoooom, neither happens. Zoooom absorbs 100% of the processing cost.

• The buyer pays exactly the online amount toward the car plus the $100 flat fee — no surcharge, on any method.
• The seller receives the full online amount — nothing is deducted for processing.
• Zoooom even covers the ~1% Instant Payout fee so the seller can get the money in minutes rather than days (see section 7).

This is only possible because the online amount is capped at a $1,000 deposit. Absorbing processing on a whole car's price wouldn't be sustainable; absorbing it on a bounded deposit is. It's the trade that lets Zoooom keep the experience surcharge-free for buyers and full-price for sellers.

5. The $1,000 online cap, and why

The amount that flows to the seller online is capped at $1,000 (plus Zoooom's separate $100 fee). If a car costs more than that, the $1,000 is paid online as a deposit and the balance is exchanged in person at handoff. If a car costs $1,000 or less, the whole thing can go online.

Why cap it? Three reasons:

• It lets Zoooom absorb all fees. Covering processing and the instant-payout cost is only viable on a bounded amount. The cap is what makes "no surcharge for buyers, full price for sellers" possible.
• It limits chargeback exposure. Card payments can be disputed for up to 120 days. Keeping the online amount to a deposit dramatically shrinks the worst-case reversal for everyone.
• It keeps the in-person handoff meaningful. Exchanging the balance face-to-face — after you've inspected the car and checked the title — is the safest moment to move the bulk of the money.

The $100 Zoooom service fee is charged in addition to the online amount and is not part of the $1,000 cap. We'll update this guide if the cap changes.

6. Bank wire and the 2 PM Pacific cutoff

Bank wire is supported for the online payment, with one scheduling rule: wires must be started before 2:00 PM Pacific. After that cutoff the wire option is hidden at checkout, and you'll use card, debit, or pay-over-time instead.

The reason is settlement timing. A wire started before the afternoon cutoff can be received, confirmed, and paid out to the seller the same day. A wire started too late in the day can't settle until the next business day, which breaks the instant-payout experience the rest of Zoooom is built around. Rather than leave a seller waiting and unsure, we simply steer late-day payments to the instant methods.

Wires carry no extra fee to either side — like every other method, Zoooom covers the cost. To pay by wire, the buyer selects "Bank wire" at checkout before the cutoff; Stripe generates one-time wire instructions, and the deal sits in "Payment processing" until the wire is received.

7. Instant payouts — how fast sellers get paid

When a buyer completes the online payment, Zoooom pays the seller instantly. Using Stripe Instant Payouts, the online amount lands on the seller's linked debit card within minutes — not the days a normal bank deposit takes — any day of the week, including weekends and holidays. Zoooom pays the instant-payout fee, so the seller still receives the full amount.

Here's the full sequence:

1. Buyer pays online. The buyer authorizes the deposit (up to $1,000 toward the car) plus the $100 fee, by card, debit, pay-over-time, or wire.
2. Seller is paid instantly. Stripe pushes the online amount to the seller's debit card within minutes. The seller gets an in-app confirmation.
3. Both parties meet in person. The buyer inspects the vehicle and pays the remaining balance. The seller hands over the keys, signed title, and bill of sale, and both tap "Confirm handoff" in the app to close the deal and transfer the vehicle record to the buyer's garage.

Setting up instant payouts (sellers)

To receive instant payouts, a seller connects a Stripe Express account and links an eligible debit card (instant payouts pay to a debit card, not a bank account number). The one-time setup takes a few minutes and happens the first time you accept a payment. Once it's done, every future sale pays out to that card automatically.

Chargebacks and reversals

If a buyer pays by card and later disputes the online charge, Zoooom responds with the documentation collected during the transaction — KYC records, VIN verification, the in-app handoff confirmation, signed bill of sale, and messages between the parties. Because the online amount is a bounded deposit, everyone's exposure is limited, and Zoooom reviews every dispute case by case and stands behind sellers who followed the flow.

8. Worked examples

In every example, Zoooom covers all processing fees, so the seller receives the full online amount and the buyer pays no surcharge. The online deposit is capped at $1,000 toward the car; anything above that is exchanged in person at handoff.

Example A: $800 project car (settles fully online)

Example B: $8,500 Honda Civic

Example C: $25,000 truck

The online deposit locks the deal and is paid out to the seller instantly, in full. The larger balance changes hands in person, after the buyer inspects the car and confirms the title — the safest moment to move the bulk of the money. The buyer's $100 fee is the same in every case; sellers keep every dollar because Zoooom absorbs processing.

9. Security and dispute protection

Your payment information is never stored on Zoooom servers

When you enter your card details at checkout, they go directly from your device to Stripe via an encrypted, PCI-compliant connection. Zoooom never sees your full card number. We receive only a tokenized reference and a confirmation of payment success.

Why a bounded online deposit is safer than full escrow

Zoooom deliberately keeps the online amount to a $1,000 deposit and settles the balance in person, rather than routing a car's full price through the platform and holding it in escrow. A small, verified deposit is enough to commit both sides and pay the seller instantly, while the larger balance changes hands face-to-face — after the buyer has inspected the car and confirmed the title. That keeps everyone's exposure small: there's simply far less money in flight online for a scam or a chargeback to reach.

Identity and ownership verified before checkout

Before either party can complete a transaction, Zoooom has already verified:

• The buyer's identity via driver's license scan and selfie match (KYC)
• The seller's identity using the same process
• The seller's ownership of the vehicle via VIN, license plate, and document authentication

What happens if something goes wrong at handoff

If the car doesn't match the listing, if the seller can't produce a clean title, or if either party feels unsafe completing the deal, do not tap "Confirm handoff" and do not hand over the balance. Tap "Report an issue" in the Deal Center instead. Zoooom support investigates within one business day, and can refund the online deposit where warranted. Because the bulk of the money is exchanged in person only after inspection, you're never handing over a car's full price to a deal that hasn't checked out.

Card-issuer protections layered on top

When the online deposit is paid by credit card, buyers also benefit from card-network and card-issuer protections that apply automatically: fraud monitoring, $0 fraud liability on most US cards, and the right to dispute charges that don't match the merchant's description. Check with your card issuer for the specifics of what your card covers.

10. California disclosure

SB 478 (Honest Pricing Law) compliance

California's SB 478, effective July 1, 2024, requires that all mandatory fees be included in the displayed price of a product or service. Zoooom complies as follows:

• The $100 mandatory Zoooom service fee is included in the headline price displayed for every marketplace listing. When you see a price on a vehicle card, that price already includes the service fee — no add-on at checkout.
• The breakdown (vehicle price + service fee) is shown on the listing detail page and again at checkout, so you always know exactly what you're paying for.
• There is no buyer surcharge on any payment method. The buyer pays only the displayed price plus the $100 service fee — payment processing costs are absorbed entirely by Zoooom, never added to the buyer's charge.

11. Frequently asked questions