How Carsido Payments Work — Buyer & Seller Guide

How payments work on Carsido: the seller receives the full asking price, the buyer pays that price plus a flat $100 service fee and the card or wire cost at cost, card carries up to $1,000 online, bank wire carries any amount, and a 100% cash sale is free.

Updated 2026-09-14 · ~7 min read

Quick overview

Carsido is a peer-to-peer marketplace. One rule explains almost all of it:

The seller receives the full asking price. Nothing is deducted for processing.
The buyer pays that price, plus Carsido's flat $100 service fee, plus the actual cost of the payment method they choose.
That last part is a cost pass-through, not a surcharge. Carsido takes no margin on it, and the rounding is floored in the buyer's favour — a stray cent is absorbed rather than charged.
Carsido's only revenue is the flat $100 fee. It does not scale with the price of the car.
A 100% cash sale costs nothing at all — not even the $100.

The platform handles identity verification, ownership verification, in-app messaging, the structured deal flow, and dispute mediation. The seller hands over the vehicle, title, and keys in person.

Every total is quoted before you pay. Carsido prices each method on its own and shows you the exact figure — price, service fee, and method cost, itemised — before you confirm. Nothing is estimated on your screen and charged differently on the server.

What buyers pay

You choose how to pay, and the choice changes the total. Here is an $800 car, with the real numbers:

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

Bank wire is the cheapest way to buy: Carsido covers the bank's transfer fee, so a wire costs the price plus the $100 and nothing else.

Card carries up to $1,000 of the price

A card settles up to $1,000 toward the vehicle online. Above that, either pay the whole price by bank wire, which has no ceiling, or bring the difference as cash at the handoff.

The cap is a treasury decision, not a judgement about you: Carsido fronts the seller's payout from its own balance so the money can move at the moment of sale, and the card settles behind it. It also happens to sit near the per-transaction limit most banks already put on a card, so it rarely binds before your own bank does.

Paying partly in cash

Cash at the handoff is a first-class option, and it re-prices everything else. On an $18,500 car with $17,500 in cash, only the last $1,000 goes through a rail — so card becomes available again:

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

And if you pay the entire $18,500 in cash, there is no online charge and no $100 fee — Carsido only charges when money moves through it.

What sellers get

You receive the full asking price. Processing is paid by the buyer on top, so the method they choose makes no difference to your payout. There is no haircut to price around.

On an $8,500 car you receive $8,500, however the buyer splits it between card, wire and cash.

This changed in August 2026. Carsido used to absorb processing. It now passes the method cost to the buyer at cost and pays you the full price. The $1,000 card limit is unchanged. If you read an older version of this guide saying "Carsido covers all processing fees", that is no longer how it works — and it understated what you receive.

Setting up to receive payments (sellers)

Before you can accept a buyer's payment you need a Stripe Express account. It is a one-time setup of about five minutes, and Carsido walks you through it in-app when you first list a vehicle, or before you accept your first offer.

You will be asked for:

Your legal name and date of birth
Your address
The last 4 digits of your Social Security Number (for tax reporting and identity verification — required by federal law)
A photo of your government-issued ID
An eligible debit card to receive instant payouts — these pay to a debit card rather than a bank account number, which is what makes them arrive in minutes

Stripe handles this verification. Your information is encrypted in transit and at rest and is not visible to Carsido staff or to the buyer.

Your information must match your driver's license. The name and date of birth you give Stripe must exactly match the license you used for Carsido identity verification. Mismatches block payouts until corrected.

Tax forms (1099-K)

Stripe will issue a 1099-K if your annual proceeds through Carsido exceed the IRS reporting threshold. A single private-party sale is typically below it, but if you sell several vehicles in one tax year, expect a form. Carsido does not provide tax advice — talk to a CPA about how a private vehicle sale affects your taxes.

The deal flow, step by step

Buyer browses listings and finds a vehicle.
Buyer and seller chat in-app to ask questions, share photos, arrange a viewing, and agree a price.
Both parties complete identity verification — license capture and selfie face-match. The seller also verifies ownership from the registration.
They meet in person somewhere safe to inspect the vehicle. Many buyers arrange a pre-purchase inspection at a vetted mechanic.
The buyer chooses a payment method at checkout and sees the exact total for it before confirming.
The buyer pays the online portion, and the seller is paid — instantly, to their debit card, on the online amount.
Any cash portion changes hands at the handoff, and the seller signs over the title and keys.
Both parties confirm the handoff, closing the deal and moving the vehicle record into the buyer's garage.
Title transfer with the state DMV is completed by buyer and seller under their state's procedure.

Read the full guides for buying a used car on Carsido and selling your car on Carsido.

Payout timing

Instant payout to your debit card: within minutes of the buyer completing the online payment, any day of the week including weekends and holidays.
Bank wire: the buyer initiates it at their own bank; it typically arrives within one to two business days. There is no daily cutoff to work around.
Cash: settles when you count it.
First-time setup: your very first payout may take a little longer while Stripe finishes verifying a new Express account.
Disputed transactions: if an online charge is disputed, those funds may be reversed pending investigation. See below.

Refunds and disputes

Vehicle sales on Carsido are final once both parties confirm the handoff. Refunds may be issued in limited circumstances, including:

Seller fraud or material misrepresentation of the vehicle.
Failure to deliver after payment.
Title fraud or an undisclosed lien preventing the buyer from registering the vehicle.
Unauthorized use of the buyer's payment method.

Read the full Refund & Dispute Policy for what is eligible, how to file, and the investigation timeline.

If a buyer disputes a charge with their card issuer (a "chargeback"), Stripe notifies both Carsido and the seller. We submit evidence on the seller's behalf — verification records, in-app message history, and the location and device evidence captured at each step of the deal — but the card issuer makes the final decision. Because the seller is the merchant of record, a successful chargeback may be debited from the seller; Carsido reviews every case individually and reimburses where warranted, though in some cases the seller may bear the risk.

Funds are not held in escrow. Carsido is not an escrow agent and does not hold the money between you; payment moves from the buyer to the seller through Stripe at the moment of sale.

Payment methods

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Bank wire

A bank-to-bank transfer, and the only method that can settle a car of any price on its own. No processing charge to the buyer — Carsido covers the bank's transfer fee — so the total is the price plus the $100 service fee. You get one-time wire instructions at checkout. Typically arrives within one to two business days.

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Credit & debit card

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. Carries up to $1,000 of the vehicle price online; the rest comes as cash at the handoff, or pay the whole price by wire. Processing is passed through at cost, around 2.9% + 30¢ on the online portion, shown exactly before you pay. The seller is paid out instantly.

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Cash at the handoff

Pay all or part in cash when you meet the seller. A 100% cash sale carries no online charge and no $100 service fee. A partial amount re-prices the remainder, and the fee then applies to the online part. Always meet somewhere safe and public.

Coming soon

Instant bank payments (RTP / FedNow)

The Federal Reserve's FedNow and The Clearing House's RTP network enable instant bank-to-bank payments. As coverage broadens, Carsido will add them as another way to fund the online payment.

Common questions

Who pays the payment processing fees?

The buyer does, at cost. Carsido takes no margin on it and floors the rounding in the buyer's favour. The seller's payout is never reduced — you receive the full asking price. Bank wire is the exception where there is nothing to pass on: Carsido covers the bank's transfer fee, so a wire is just the price plus $100.

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

A card carries up to $1,000 of the price online. Carsido fronts the seller's payout from its own balance so the money can move at the moment of sale, and the card settles behind it — so the ceiling caps how much is fronted per deal. For a car above that, pay by bank wire, which has no ceiling, or put the difference in cash at the handoff. Most banks cap a single card transaction near $1,000 anyway.

I'm a seller — how fast do I get paid, and to where?

On the online portion: instantly, to the debit card you linked when you set up your Stripe Express account — typically within minutes, any day of the week. Any cash portion you collect in person at the handoff.

Is there a cutoff time for bank wires?

No. An earlier version of Carsido dropped wire from the options after 2 PM Pacific; that cutoff has been removed and wire is offered whenever you are. What matters is settlement, not the clock — do not hand over or accept keys until the funds have actually arrived.

Do you offer financing or pay-over-time?

No. Carsido does not lend, and does not offer installments at checkout. If you need to finance a purchase, arrange it with your own bank or credit union and pay by wire. See auto financing basics for how buyers usually do this.

My card was declined — what do I do?

Call the number on the back of your card and tell your bank you are authorizing a vehicle purchase through Carsido, then retry. If it still declines, try another card, pay by wire, or bring more of the price as cash at the handoff.

What if I'm a seller and I get a chargeback?

Notify support@carsido.com immediately. We submit our verification records and in-app evidence to contest it on your behalf. We also recommend filing a police report if you suspect fraud.

Can I sell to a buyer in a different state?

Yes, though title transfer and registration rules vary by state and both parties are responsible for their own. Long-distance handoffs add complexity — consider meeting at the midpoint. Some states are currently restricted; see where Carsido operates.