Payments, Refunds & No-Show Policy
Last updated October 2026
Draft. This is a plain-language draft that will be reviewed by a lawyer before RU Cura launches publicly.
Everything about how money moves on RU Cura, in one place: what you pay, when you're charged, how sellers are paid, and what happens if a meetup is cancelled, someone doesn't show up, or something is wrong. It's part of the Terms of Service. The numbers on this page are the same ones the app uses at checkout.
1. The short version
What happens Paying Your card is only put on hold when you ask to buy. You're charged when the seller accepts. RU Cura holds the money until you meet and the seller enters your 4-digit code. What you pay The item price + a service fee of 3.5% + 30¢. No sales tax is added. What sellers get The item price minus RU Cura's 10% commission, paid by Venmo or Zelle within 12 hours of the handoff (the hours between midnight and 9 AM don't count). Cancel before the seller accepts Free. Your card isn't charged. Cancel after the seller accepts Up to 30 minutes before the meetup: you get the item price back but not the service fee (a seller who cancels refunds you everything). Closer than that, it can't be cancelled. Someone doesn't show Depends on who. The table in section 5 has every case. A problem with the item Don't show your code. Tap Report a problem and the money is paused while we review. Refunds Always go back to the card you paid with. 2. Who handles the money
RU Cura is a marketplace between students. We are not the buyer or the seller of any item. Card payments are processed by Stripe, and the money is collected into RU Cura's own Stripe account. We hold it for you during the sale, and then pay the seller their share by Venmo or Zelle.
This means RU Cura, not Stripe and not the other student, is who you deal with about a payment, a refund or a mistake. Nothing in this policy limits any right you have under the law or with your card issuer.
Cards only: credit and debit cards, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay (which are also cards). We don't take cash, checks, or payment by Venmo, Zelle or similar apps from buyers. Never pay a seller outside RU Cura; if you do, none of this protection applies. Venmo and Zelle are only how we pay sellers.
3. What you pay (buyers)
You pay the item price plus a service fee of 3.5% of the price + 30¢. The service fee helps cover card processing. If you have strikes (section 7), a surcharge of 4% of the price per strike is added. You see the full total, to the cent, before you confirm. Prices are in US dollars. We don't add sales tax.
Prices on RU Cura run from $5 to $5000.
Example $40 item $5 item (the lowest price) Service fee $1.70 $0.48 You pay in total $41.70 $5.48 Seller keeps (price minus 10%) $36.00 $4.50 4. When your card is charged
1. You pick a meetup spot and time and pay. Your card is only put on hold (an "authorization"). Your bank may show it as pending, but it isn't a charge and the money isn't taken.
2. The seller has until 24 hours later, or 60 minutes before the meetup if that comes first, to accept. If they decline or don't answer, the hold is released and you pay nothing. Your bank decides how fast a released hold disappears from your statement; it can take several days.
3. When the seller accepts, your card is charged and RU Cura holds the money. You get a 4-digit handoff code.
4. At the meetup, check the item. If you're happy, show the seller your code. When they enter it, the sale is final and the seller gets paid.
Holds last at most 7 days, so meetups can be at most 6 days away. If you don't finish paying within 30 minutes of starting an order, it's cancelled and nothing is held.
5. The handoff code means you accepted the item
The code is your confirmation that you met, looked at the item and are happy with it. Only show it after you've checked the item. Once the seller enters it, the money is released to the seller and we can't take it back. If something is wrong, don't show the code; report it first (section 6).
A seller gets 3 tries to enter the code. After 3 wrong tries the handoff locks and the order goes to RU Cura to sort out.
6. Cancellations, reschedules and no-shows
Meetups are a 30-minute window. You can check in from 10 minutes before the window opens until it ends, by tapping “I'm here” and taking a photo of the spot. For a listed meeting spot, your phone must also place you within about 250 meters of it, so the app asks for your location at that moment; we store only yes or no, never your location. A check-in from somewhere else is refused, so move closer and try again, or use Report a problem if your phone's location is wrong. A custom meeting place has no map pin, so only the photo is used. After the window ends there's a 15-minute grace period, and then the order is settled automatically as in this table. You and the seller can reschedule or cancel up to 30 minutes before the meetup; after that it's locked.
What happened The buyer gets back The seller Strike Buyer cancels before the seller accepts Everything. Nothing was charged. Nothing No Seller declines, or doesn't answer in time Everything. Nothing was charged. Nothing No Buyer cancels after acceptance, at least 30 minutes before The item price (and any strike surcharge). The service fee is kept. Nothing; the item is listed again No Seller cancels after acceptance, at least 30 minutes before Everything, including the service fee. Nothing; the item is listed again No Both meet and the code is entered Nothing back; the sale is done. Paid within 12 hours of the handoff (the hours between midnight and 9 AM don't count) No The seller doesn't show (and the buyer checked in) Everything, including the service fee. Nothing Yes, to the seller The buyer doesn't show (and the seller checked in) The item price minus the no-show fee. The service fee and any strike surcharge are kept. A share of the no-show fee (30%) Yes, to the buyer Neither checks in The total minus the service fee. Nothing; the item is listed again No Both check in but the code isn't entered Paused. RU Cura reviews it (section 6). Paused Decided on review The no-show fee is 20% of the item price for everyone: there is no minimum, no maximum and it doesn't change with strikes. The no-show fee is not a punishment in itself; it covers the seller's wasted trip and the cost of processing the sale. RU Cura keeps 70% of it and 30% goes to the person who showed up.
If the buyer doesn't show $40 item $5 item The buyer paid $41.70 $5.48 No-show fee $8.00 $1.00 Refunded to the buyer $32.00 $4.00 The buyer is out in total $9.70 $1.48 The seller gets $2.40 $0.30 Please only order if you can make the meetup.
7. If something is wrong with the item
Meet, check the item, and only then show your code. If the item isn't as described, or something else is wrong, don't show the code. Tap Report a problem on the order, describe what happened, and the payment is paused. Either person can do this while the meetup is active, and the other person is told.
RU Cura then looks at the order's timeline, check-in photos, the chat and the listing, and decides to either pay the seller or refund the buyer in full. Our decision on where held money goes is final within the app, but doesn't limit any rights you have under the law or with your card issuer.
Don't pay or take payment outside the app to "fix" a problem, and never show your code before you're satisfied.
8. Strikes and account standing
A strike is given for missing a meetup (a no-show). Each strike adds a 4% surcharge to your next 5 transactions: buyers pay it on top of the price, and sellers' commission goes up by the same amount. A strike expires after 50 days. At 3 strikes, buying and selling are paused for 14 days. You can see your strikes under Account standing, and you can appeal through Report a problem.
9. How and when sellers are paid
The seller's share is the item price minus RU Cura's 10% commission (more if the seller has strikes). It is sent by hand, by Venmo or Zelle to the handle the seller saved, within 12 hours of the handoff (the hours between midnight and 9 AM don't count). The hours between midnight and 9 AM don't count toward that, so a handoff at 11:30 PM is paid by about 9 PM the next day at the latest. Sellers also see the exact time to expect the money, on the order and in an email, as soon as the handoff is confirmed. Sellers get an email when the handoff is confirmed and another when the money is sent.
A seller must save a Venmo or Zelle handle before accepting an order. We send money only to that handle. Sellers are responsible for giving a correct one: if a seller gives a wrong handle, or one that belongs to someone else, we aren't able to get that money back. Payouts are in US dollars. We don't pay by cash, check or card.
A seller who is owed a share of a no-show fee is paid the same way.
10. How refunds are paid
Refunds always go back to the card (or Apple Pay / Google Pay card) you paid with, never to a different card, a bank account or an app. After we issue a refund, how long it takes to show up depends on your bank; it's usually a few business days and can take longer.
When we release a hold (the seller declines, doesn't answer, or you cancel before they accept), there is nothing to refund: your card wasn't charged, and the pending amount drops off by itself.
Service fees are refunded only where the table in section 5 says so. The card processor keeps its own fee on every payment, including ones we refund; that is a cost to RU Cura, never an extra charge to you.
11. Bank disputes and chargebacks
You always have the right to dispute a charge with your bank. Please contact us first through Report a problem; most things can be fixed faster that way. If a bank dispute is opened, the order is frozen for review. RU Cura may give your bank and the card processor the order's records (timeline, check-in photos and times, messages, and the handoff record) to answer it.
A dispute over an item you already accepted by showing the code may lead to RU Cura pausing or closing your account, and we may stop an affected seller's payout while it's reviewed.
For sellers: if a bank dispute is opened on an order, RU Cura holds your payout for that order until the bank decides. If the bank sides with the buyer, that payout is cancelled. If you were already paid, you agree to pay that amount back to RU Cura when asked, and RU Cura may take it out of any future payout. We'll always tell you what happened and why, and we'll use the order's records to defend the sale first.
12. Taxes
RU Cura doesn't add sales tax to orders. Sellers are responsible for any taxes on their sales and income. If the law requires us to report payments we make to sellers, we will, and we may ask sellers for the information we need to do it (such as a tax ID). Nothing here is tax advice.
13. Mistakes and things we get wrong
If we charge, refund or pay the wrong amount, tell us and we'll fix it. If you were refunded or paid too much by mistake, we may correct it. If a refund can't go back to the original card (for example, the card was closed), we'll work out another way with you.
We can pause a payment or payout if we suspect fraud, an illegal sale, a stolen card, or a broken rule, and we may close the account involved.
14. Changes and contact
We may update this policy. If the changes matter, we'll ask you to agree again in the app before you can place or accept another order. The version in force when you place an order applies to that order.
Questions about a payment? Use Report a problem → Something else, or email support.rucura@gmail.com. See also the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy.
RU Cura is run by students and isn't affiliated with Rutgers University.