Payments and security
How payments work on our platform, what we charge, what we don't, and how we keep your data safe.
We use Stripe to process every payment. Stripe handles billions of transactions per year for companies like Shopify, Lyft, Slack, the Financial Times and Glossier. Their security is among the strongest in the industry; ours benefits directly.
What this means for you
- Your card details never touch our servers. When you enter your card on the checkout page, it goes directly from your browser to Stripe over a TLS-encrypted connection. We never see, store, or transmit your full card number, CVV or expiry date.
- PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance. Stripe is certified at the highest standard for handling card data, and that compliance flows down to bookings made through our platform.
- End-to-end encryption. All transactions are encrypted in transit and at rest. We use TLS 1.3 across the platform; older protocols are disabled.
- 3D Secure when needed. If your bank requires extra verification (a one-time code, biometric prompt, etc.), Stripe handles it transparently inside the checkout flow.
- No CVV storage. Even Stripe never stores your CVV — it's used only to validate the transaction at the moment of purchase.
What we charge
Just one fee, disclosed at checkout: a 3% platform fee on top of the operator's ticket price. That covers payment processing, customer support, marketplace operations and the technology that makes the booking flow work. No booking fees, no service charges, no "convenience fees", no last-minute surprises.
The total you see at checkout is the total you pay. The breakdown — ticket subtotal, discount (if any), platform fee, total — is itemised before you confirm and on your receipt.
What we don't charge
- No fee for cancelling within the free-cancellation window
- No fee for modifying your booking
- No fee for using a foreign card (we don't mark up FX)
- No subscription or membership fees — you only pay when you book
Currencies
You're charged in the currency listed on the experience page (typically the operator's local currency: GBP for UK operators, EUR for European operators, USD for US operators). Your bank handles any FX conversion at their interbank rate plus their own fee — usually 0% to 3% depending on your card type.
Tip: travel-friendly cards (Revolut, Wise, Monzo, Chase, Curve) typically convert at the interbank rate with no fee.
Receipts and invoices
An itemised receipt is emailed immediately after payment, suitable for personal records or basic expense claims. You can also download a receipt at any time from your booking detail page in My bookings.
Need a tax invoice for your business or VAT return? Most operators can issue one — contact them directly using the details in your confirmation email, with your VAT number, and they'll send it through.
Refunds
See our refund policy for full details. Quick summary:
- Cancel within the free-cancellation window: full refund, automatic, 5-10 business days to your bank
- Reduce ticket count: difference refunded automatically
- Operator cancels: full refund, automatic, no action needed
- Outside the cancellation window: at the operator's discretion (most are flexible for genuine reasons)
Failed payments
The most common reasons:
- Bank declined. Often it's your bank's fraud system flagging an unusual transaction. Reply to the bank's text/app prompt approving it, then retry.
- Insufficient funds. Self-explanatory.
- Card expired. Use a different card or contact your bank for a replacement.
- 3D Secure failed. The verification code wasn't entered correctly — try again, or use a different card.
If your payment fails, your booking is held in pending status for 30 minutes. You can retry from the booking detail page without losing your form data. After 30 minutes, the booking expires and the spot is released to other customers.
Disputes and chargebacks
If you don't recognise a charge from us, please contact us first before disputing with your bank. We can usually identify the booking and either explain the charge or issue a refund within an hour during business hours, much faster than a chargeback (which can take 60-90 days). If we can't resolve it satisfactorily, we'll guide you through the chargeback process.
Fraud protection
Stripe's machine-learning fraud system reviews every transaction in real time. If something looks unusual (mismatched addresses, unusual spending patterns, known compromised cards), the transaction is held for review or declined automatically. We tune the sensitivity to keep false positives low — but if a legitimate booking is mistakenly held, contact us and we'll release it.
Stripe Connect (for operators)
Operators on our marketplace are paid via Stripe Connect. Funds move from the customer's card to Stripe to the operator's connected Stripe account on a rolling basis (typically T+2 to T+7). Our platform fee is taken automatically at payment time. Operators can review payouts, fees and customer details in their Stripe dashboard.
Data we retain
For compliance with anti-fraud, anti-money-laundering and tax regulations, Stripe retains transaction metadata (amount, currency, last 4 digits of card, billing address, status) for the legally-required period. We retain booking metadata (event, customer, total, refund status) under the same regimes. See our privacy policy for the full data-retention schedule.