Payment policy

Equimeta is a horse-sale workflow platform. We coordinate the milestones of a private horse sale — agreement, document signing, payment, and document exchange — and keep the paper trail on a shared Deal Room record. Payment is processed by Stripe, not by Equimeta.

This policy explains how payment works inside the Deal Room, what Equimeta is and is not, and how refunds and disputes are handled.

1. What Equimeta is — and is not

• Equimeta is a transaction workflow platform. We provide the messaging, document templates, e-signature, milestone tracking, and archived record that wrap a private horse sale.
• Equimeta is not an escrow agent or money transmitter. We do not take custody of funds. We do not "hold" or "release" money. Funds move through Stripe directly between the buyer and the seller's connected Stripe account.
• The seller is the merchant of record. Stripe processes the charge on the seller's connected account; the seller's refund and chargeback policy applies. Equimeta is paid a platform fee on the same charge.

2. How payment works in the Deal Room

The goal is not blind trust on either side. The goal is to keep terms, payment, and timing aligned in one documented workflow:

• Agreement: Buyer and seller settle on price, inspection contingencies, and delivery terms inside the Deal Room. All of it lives on the shared record.
• Documents: Both sides e-sign the purchase agreement in the Deal Room. The Deal Room will not advance to checkout until the agreement is executed and the seller has connected a verified Stripe payout account.
• Payment: The buyer completes checkout through Stripe. The charge is processed on the seller's connected Stripe account; the Equimeta platform fee is collected on the same charge. Both sides see the payment confirmed in the Deal Room.
• Document exchange & closeout: The Deal Room advances to the document-exchange milestone. The seller uploads bill-of-sale and transfer paperwork; the buyer confirms receipt. The deal then closes and the full record stays archived for both sides.

3. Holding deposits

Buyers and sellers may agree to a holding deposit at any point in the Pricing Discussion through Final Pricing Agreement stages. A holding deposit is fully optional; no deal is required to use one.

• Negotiated per deal. Either party proposes a deposit amount, balance due date, and refund condition inside the Deal Room. The other party accepts, declines, or ignores the proposal. Equimeta does not set deposit amounts and does not require deposits.
• Documented before payment. Once both parties accept, Equimeta auto-generates a Deposit Addendum that both parties e-sign through the same flow used for the purchase agreement. The deposit cannot be paid until the addendum is fully executed.
• Funds go directly to the seller. The holding deposit is processed by Stripe as a direct charge on the seller's connected Stripe account, exactly like the final balance payment described in section 2. Equimeta does not hold, custody, or release deposit funds. The seller is the merchant of record for the deposit charge.
• Credited against the balance. When the buyer pays the final balance at the Payment stage, Equimeta charges only the remaining sale price (agreed price minus deposit). The platform fee is split proportionally between the deposit and the balance so that the total fee matches a single-payment deal within rounding.
• Refund conditions live on the addendum. The signed Deposit Addendum sets the refund conditions the parties agreed to — typically refundable if the seller backs out or the pre-purchase exam fails, otherwise non-refundable. Refund conditions are contractual between buyer and seller, not enforced by Equimeta or by Stripe.
• Refunds are issued by the seller. If the deal is cancelled by both parties and the addendum's refund conditions apply, the seller issues the refund through Stripe on their connected account. Equimeta surfaces a "Refund holding deposit" panel on the cancelled deal page to make this a one-click action for the seller, but the seller must affirmatively click it. Equimeta does not auto-refund and does not move money on its own.

Card-network and bank fees on the original deposit charge may be non-refundable, the same as for any Stripe-processed charge described in section 4.

4. How payouts to the seller work

Once the charge clears Stripe, the seller is paid out on their normal Stripe Connect payout schedule — typically 2 business days for ACH, longer for newly verified accounts or first payouts. Equimeta does not control the payout schedule and does not gate payouts on Deal Room milestones.

If a seller wants to delay payout (for example, until they have completed document exchange), that is configured directly in the seller's Stripe account, not in Equimeta.

5. Refunds, reversals, and disputes

Because the seller is the merchant of record, refunds and reversals are handled in Stripe under the seller's policy and the agreed deal terms:

• If the buyer and seller agree to cancel after payment, the seller can issue a refund through Stripe. Card-network and bank fees on the original charge may be non-refundable.
• Card-network chargebacks initiated by the buyer's card issuer are handled by Stripe and the seller; Equimeta is not the merchant of record and does not arbitrate the chargeback.
• The Deal Room record — listing snapshot, agreed terms, signed purchase agreement, conversation history — is what disputes typically come down to. Equimeta's support team can help either side organize and present that record. We do not adjudicate the underlying contract.

6. Off-platform agent settlement

If a buyer's agent or seller's agent is part of the deal, the agreed commission is recorded on the Deal Room for documentation. Equimeta does not transfer commission money to agents — settlement with your agent is handled outside the platform.

7. Fees

Equimeta uses a tiered fee schedule on both sides of a completed marketplace deal: 3% on the first $10,000, 2% on the next $40,000, and 1% above $50,000 (minimum $1 per side). These fees cover the workflow platform: messaging, document templates and e-signature, milestone tracking, identity verification, archived record, and support. All fees are shown before any deal is confirmed.

When a deal uses a holding deposit, the same total fee applies — it is split proportionally between the deposit charge and the balance charge so the buyer and seller pay the same total platform fee they would have paid on a single-payment deal.

If a horse sale closes offline, Equimeta may still offer an optional records transfer and ownership registration flow for a flat fee ($99 standard, $49 for Professional Plus/Elite subscribers). This offline transfer fee does not include the Deal Room workflow.

All transactions are processed in United States Dollars (USD). Equimeta supports cross-border transactions between the United States and Canada. If your bank account is denominated in a different currency, your bank or payment provider may apply currency conversion fees. These fees are outside Equimeta's control.

8. Identity verification

Sellers are required to connect a verified bank account through Stripe before they can be paid through the Deal Room. Stripe's onboarding process collects and verifies the identity information required by financial regulations. Equimeta does not store your bank account details directly — all sensitive payment data is handled by Stripe.

9. Contact support

For questions about a Deal Room workflow, a payment, or the documented record, contact our support team at support@equimeta.co. For refund or chargeback questions on a specific charge, you may also need to contact Stripe and the seller directly.

Our binding terms are set out in the Terms of Service.