Carsido Payment Methods — Card, Bank Wire & Cash Compared

The three ways to pay for a car on Carsido compared side by side: bank wire for any amount, card for up to $1,000 online, and cash at the handoff. What each one costs, how fast it settles, and worked examples with real figures.

Updated 2026-09-14 · ~6 min read

Quick summary

Methods accepted: Bank wire and card, processed through Stripe, plus cash at the in-person handoff. Any combination of cash and one online method.
Who pays what: The seller receives the full asking price. The buyer pays that price, Carsido's flat $100 service fee, and the cost of the method they chose — passed through at cost, with no margin.
Card ceiling: A card carries up to $1,000 of the vehicle price online. Bank wire has no ceiling.
Cheapest method: Bank wire. Carsido covers the bank's transfer fee, so the total is the price plus $100 and nothing else.
Free option: A 100% cash sale has no online charge and no service fee.
Seller payout: Instant to the seller's debit card on the online portion, any day of the week.

This guide compares the methods. For the model behind them — who pays what and why — read how Carsido payments work.

1. The three methods, side by side

	Bank wire	Card	Cash
Maximum online	No limit	$1,000 of the price	n/a
Cost to the buyer	$0 — Carsido covers the bank fee	~2.9% + 30¢ on the online portion, at cost	$0
Carsido service fee	$100	$100	None on a 100% cash sale
Seller payout speed	On arrival, usually 1–2 business days	Instant, to a debit card	At the handoff
Cutoff time	None	None	n/a

Whatever you pick, Carsido prices it and shows you the exact total — itemised — before you confirm. Nothing is estimated on screen and charged differently behind it.

2. Bank wire

A bank-to-bank transfer, and the only method that can settle a car of any price on its own. It is also the cheapest: Carsido covers the bank's transfer fee, so a wire costs the vehicle price plus the $100 service fee and not a cent more.

Select "Bank wire" at checkout and Stripe generates one-time wire instructions. The deal sits in "Payment processing" until the wire is received, which typically takes one to two business days.

There is no daily cutoff. An earlier version of Carsido withdrew wire as an option after 2:00 PM Pacific, on the theory that a late wire could not settle the same day. That rule has been removed — wire is offered whenever you are. What matters is not the clock but settlement: never hand over or accept keys until the funds have actually arrived.

3. Card

Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. Instant authorization, full card-network buyer protections, and an instant payout to the seller.

A card carries up to $1,000 of the vehicle price online. Above that, either pay the whole price by wire or bring the difference as cash at the handoff. The ceiling exists because Carsido fronts the seller's payout from its own balance so the money can move at the moment of sale, with the card settling behind it — so it caps how much is fronted per deal. It also sits near the per-transaction limit most banks already apply to a single card, so it rarely binds before your own bank does.

Card processing is passed through to the buyer at cost — around 2.9% + 30¢ on the online portion, plus the instant-payout cost. Carsido takes no margin on either, and floors the rounding in the buyer's favour. Credit and debit cost the same.

4. Cash at the handoff

Cash is a first-class method, not an afterthought. You can pay all of the price in cash, or part.

All cash: no online charge and no $100 service fee. Carsido only charges when money moves through it.
Part cash: the remainder goes through a rail, and the service fee applies to that online part. Because the cap applies to what settles online rather than the sticker price, a large cash portion can bring a card back into play on an expensive car — see Example C.

Always meet somewhere safe and public, and log the handoff in the app so there is a record.

5. Worked examples

These are the figures Carsido actually quotes, not illustrations.

Example A: $800 project car

Line item	By card	By bank wire
To the seller	$800.00	$800.00
Carsido service fee	$100.00	$100.00
Instant payout	$8.00	—
Card processing (at cost)	$35.42	$0.00
Buyer pays	$935.42	$900.00
Seller receives	$800.00	$800.00

Example B: $18,500 car, paid online

Above the card ceiling, so wire is the way to settle it in one payment.

Line item	By bank wire
To the seller	$18,500.00
Carsido service fee	$100.00
Processing	$0.00
Buyer pays	$18,600.00

Example C: $18,500 car, $17,500 in cash

Only the last $1,000 goes online, which brings card back within its ceiling.

Line item	By card	By bank wire
Cash at the handoff	$17,500.00	$17,500.00
Online to the seller	$1,000.00	$1,000.00
Carsido service fee	$100.00	$100.00
Instant payout + processing	$53.46	$0.00
Paid online	$1,153.46	$1,100.00

Example D: $18,500 car, all cash

No online charge, and no service fee. The sale costs nothing beyond the price of the car.

6. Security and dispute protection

Your card details are never stored on Carsido servers

Card details go directly from your device to Stripe over an encrypted, PCI-compliant connection. Carsido never sees your full card number — only a tokenized reference and a confirmation that payment succeeded.

Funds are not held in escrow

Carsido is not an escrow agent and does not hold the money between you. Payment moves from buyer to seller through Stripe at the moment of sale. What protects the deal is verification before it and evidence during it, not custody of the funds.

Identity and ownership are verified before checkout

Before either party can transact, Carsido has verified the buyer's identity by license scan and selfie match, the seller's identity the same way, and the seller's ownership of the vehicle by VIN, plate and document authentication.

What happens if something goes wrong at the handoff

If the car does not match the listing, if the seller cannot produce a clean title, or if either party feels unsafe, do not confirm the handoff and do not hand over the balance. Use "Report an issue" in the Deal Center instead. Support investigates within one business day and can refund the online payment where warranted.

Card-issuer protections on top

Paying the online portion by credit card also carries card-network protections that apply automatically: fraud monitoring, $0 fraud liability on most US cards, and the right to dispute a charge that does not match the description. Check with your issuer for specifics.

7. Price display and disclosure

The $100 service fee is included in the headline price shown on every marketplace listing. A car shown at "$10,100" is a $10,000 vehicle plus the $100 fee, and the breakdown appears on the listing detail page and again at checkout.

The cost of the payment method is shown separately at checkout, itemised, before you confirm — because it depends on which method you choose and cannot be known until you choose it. Bank wire adds nothing; a card adds its processing at cost. You always see the exact figure for your chosen method before you pay, and Carsido takes no margin on it.

8. Frequently asked questions

Which method should I use?

Bank wire, if you can. It costs nothing beyond the $100 service fee, and it handles a car of any price in one payment. Use a card when you want the speed, the card protections, or the rewards, and the amount going online is within $1,000 — accepting that you pay its processing at cost.

Why can't I put the whole car on a card?

A card carries up to $1,000 of the price online. Pay the rest in cash at the handoff, or pay the whole price by wire. See section 3 for why the ceiling exists.

Is there a cutoff time for bank wires?

No. That rule was removed. Wire is available at any time of day.

Do you offer pay-over-time or financing?

No. Carsido does not lend and does not offer installments at checkout. Arrange financing with your own bank or credit union and pay by wire — see auto financing basics.

Can I use a foreign credit card?

Foreign-issued cards may be accepted at the discretion of the card networks. US-issued cards give the cleanest experience. If yours is rejected, contact support or pay by wire.

Is paying the balance in cash safe?

The cash portion changes hands only after both identities and the vehicle's ownership have been verified, and only when you meet to inspect the car and check the title — the safest point in the transaction. Log the handoff in the app so there is a record.

Where does Carsido operate?

Most of the United States. Transactions are paused for vehicles titled in a handful of states where the DMV issues the paper title to the owner despite an active loan — see where Carsido operates for the list and the reasoning.