Pricing, Fees & Refunds

This page summarizes what BarMatch charges, who processes each payment, and how refunds and cancellations work. It restates the pricing and refund terms in Sections 6, 7, and 8 of our Terms of Service; if anything here conflicts with the Terms, the Terms control. All prices are in U.S. dollars.

How payments are processed

BarMatch uses two separate payment channels, and it matters which one a charge runs through — especially for refunds:

• In-app purchases (chat refreshments, identity verification, and the BarMatch+ subscription) are billed by the Apple App Store on iOS and the Google Play Store on Android. Refunds for these are handled by Apple or Google under their policies, not by BarMatch directly.
• Card payments (Buy-a-Drink, event tickets, VIP services, the venue-owner Premium subscription, and venue advertising) are processed by Stripe using a card you save in the app. We never store your card number — only a tokenized reference. For purchases you make from a venue — drinks, tickets, and VIP services — the venue is the merchant of record: the payment is made to the venue through Stripe, and BarMatch collects a separate service fee on top. The venue sets its own prices, taxes, and refund policy.

Pricing & fees

In-app purchases — billed by Apple App Store / Google Play

Card payments — processed by Stripe

Every fee is disclosed again at the moment of purchase, before you confirm. Sales tax, where applicable, is calculated and added at checkout. We may adjust fees prospectively; changes never affect a transaction already in progress.

Refunds

All purchases are non-refundable except as stated below or as required by law. For purchases from a venue (drinks, tickets, VIP), the venue is the merchant of record and decides refunds under the refund policy it posts; the BarMatch service fee is not returned when a venue refunds the purchase price. It is returned to you when BarMatch issues the refund — see “When BarMatch refunds you” below.

In-app purchases (refreshments, verification, BarMatch+)

These are billed by Apple or Google. Refund requests for in-app purchases must go to the store that processed them — contact Apple or Google directly. Identity verification is otherwise non-refundable. Note that the verification fee (free during the launch period; later a $0.99 one-time charge, never a subscription, toward Persona’s charge for each check) is collected only after you provide biometric consent in-app and proceed — if you decline consent, no biometric data is created and you are never charged.

Buy-a-Drink (Stripe)

When you send a drink, we place a hold on your card for the full amount (drink + tax + gratuity + $2.00 service fee). What you are actually charged depends on the outcome:

• Drink served — full amount charged: the drink price, tax, and gratuity go to the venue via Stripe Connect; the $2.00 service fee is captured on the same charge and retained by BarMatch.
• Refused for out-of-stock, or refused for “other” operational/ID reasons — no charge at all; the full pre-authorization is released.
• Accepted but not redeemed before the venue closed — no charge at all; the full pre-authorization is released. The recipient wanted the drink, so if the bar closed before it was poured you are not charged — not even the $2.00 service fee.
• Refused by staff — no charge at all; the full pre-authorization is released, service fee included. This covers every reason staff may decline to serve, including where they judge the recipient has had enough.
• Declined or ignored by the recipient — only the $2.00 service fee is charged; the drink portion is not.

Outside of these outcomes, the recipient's and staff's decisions are final. If we charged you in error — a technical failure on our side, an amount you were not shown, or a double charge — contact support@barmatch.com and we will refund it in full. BarMatch does not sell or serve alcohol; the licensed venue is the seller of record for every drink.

Event tickets & VIP services (Stripe)

The venue is the merchant of record for tickets and VIP services, so refunds are at the hosting venue's discretion and follow the refund policy posted on that event or VIP offer when you purchased. You can request a refund in the app from the ticket in your wallet (choose a reason); the venue then approves or declines it. If the venue approves, you are refunded the ticket price and any tax you paid, and your ticket is voided. The BarMatch service fee is non-refundable. Each venue also provides a support email you can reach directly, shown on your ticket.

Bought more than one? A purchase is refunded in whole. If you bought three tickets in one transaction, a refund returns all three — there are no partial refunds, so you cannot give up one ticket or VIP service and keep the other two. If you want that flexibility, buy the tickets or VIP services in separate transactions: each one is then refundable on its own.

Shared a pass with a friend? Get it back first. If you have given any of the tickets or VIP services from a purchase to a friend inside BarMatch, you cannot request a refund for that purchase until they are all back with you — your friend can return a pass, or you can take it back, and then the refund request is available again.

The venue is the merchant of record, so its refund decision is final on the merits of its own posted policy — if it declines your request, follow up with the venue directly using the support email shown on your ticket. BarMatch does not overrule a venue's judgement about its own policy.

We refund you ourselves, in full and including the service fee, in five cases: a technical failure on our side meant you were charged and got no valid ticket, VIP service or drink offer; you were charged an amount you were not shown, or were charged twice; we are required to refund by law, a regulator, or our payment processor; the venue left BarMatch — the owner closing their account, or giving up that venue — and your ticket or VIP service was still unredeemed when that completed; or the venue cancelled the event or VIP service, or the night you had bought for, before it happened. You do not need the venue's agreement, and it does not matter whether they have already declined. The last two are issued automatically — you do not have to ask, we tell you when it happens, and until then your purchase stays valid. In the other three cases, if you were charged but received nothing, contact support@barmatch.com.

Deals

Deals are free to redeem, so no refunds apply.

Subscription cancellation

• BarMatch+ ($4.99/mo) auto-renews through the App Store / Play Store. Cancel anytime in your store subscription settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period and you keep BarMatch+ until then. Store-billed subscription refunds are issued by Apple or Google, not by BarMatch.
• Venue-owner Premium ($29.99/mo, or $24.99 each for multiple venues) auto-renews through Stripe Checkout. Cancel anytime in your venue-owner dashboard or by emailing support; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Partial-month refunds are not provided.

Chargebacks & purchase abuse

Before disputing a charge with your bank, please request a refund in the app or contact us first at support@barmatch.com — we can almost always resolve it faster than a formal dispute. We monitor purchases for fraud and abuse and may decline, hold, or refuse transactions. Accounts that show a pattern of fraudulent purchases, abusive refund requests, or chargebacks may have purchasing restricted (you can still use the rest of the app) or, in serious cases, be suspended.

Contact

Questions about a charge, refund, or cancellation? Email support@barmatch.com or use our contact form.