How payments, payouts, refunds and payment disputes work on Qembara.
Important
These Payment Terms govern payment collection, authorisation, refunds, Host Payouts, adjustments, chargebacks and related payment administration for Qembara Bookings. They apply together with the Guest Terms, Host Terms, Cancellation and Refund Policy and the confirmed Booking. They do not make Qembara the supplier of an Experience. The Host identified in the Booking Confirmation is ordinarily the supplier. Each Host appoints Qembara as its limited payment-collection agent for the Host Amount, and Qembara receives the Qembara Guest Service Fee for its own account.
Simple Summary
Guests see the Total Price, its components and the currency before paying, and are charged that amount in that currency. Paying the Host Amount through Qembara settles the Guest’s payment obligation to the Host. Approved refunds are initiated within 2 business days and are never delayed while Qembara recovers money from a Host. Hosts receive their Payout, ordinarily initiated by the end of the business day after the Experience starts, in the currency in which they set the Host Amount. A chargeback does not automatically mean the Host is at fault. Never pay anyone outside Qembara unless the Listing expressly allows it before checkout. This summary is for convenience only; if it conflicts with the full terms, the full terms apply.
These Payment Terms of QEMBARA EXPERIENCES PRIVATE LIMITED, a company incorporated in Singapore with Company Unique Entity (UEN) Number 202645696M (Qembara, we, us or our), apply when a Guest pays for a Qembara Booking and when a Host receives or becomes entitled to a Payout. Additional provider terms may apply to a specific payment or payout method if clearly disclosed before that method is used. Mandatory law always prevails.
Qembara uses one or more appropriately authorised payment service providers to process card or alternative-payment credentials, perform verification and settlement, and apply scheme or network rules. A provider is not treated as the Host’s collection agent merely because it processes a transaction. Qembara does not claim to be a bank, stored-value facility, remittance business or regulated payment institution unless the applicable launch structure and law support that statement.
Contractual priority is: (1) mandatory law; (2) a more favourable transaction-specific commitment; (3) the Booking Confirmation and confirmed Listing for transaction facts; (4) the Cancellation and Refund Policy for cancellation and refund entitlement; (5) the Standard Experience Contract Terms in section 7 of the Guest Terms for the Guest–Host relationship; (6) these Payment Terms for payment mechanics; and (7) the Guest Terms and Host Terms for each user’s separate relationship with Qembara. A payment-provider rule cannot silently reduce a Guest remedy or Host entitlement already granted by a higher-priority rule or transaction-specific commitment.
These Payment Terms are provided in English. This does not limit any language-related right required by law.
1.1 Acceptance and transaction versioning. A Guest accepts these Payment Terms through the affirmative checkout acceptance applicable to a Booking. A Host accepts them through Host onboarding or another expressly recorded Platform acceptance. Where additional provider terms require separate acceptance, Qembara will present them before the relevant payment or payout method is used. Qembara will retain the Payment Terms and provider-term version identifiers applicable to each transaction, together with the acceptance date and time and reasonably available audit evidence.
A later version will not retroactively reduce an accrued payment, Payout or refund right for a confirmed Booking unless mandatory law requires the change or the affected user expressly agrees through an authorised workflow.
Booking means a reservation confirmed by a Booking Confirmation.
Booking Confirmation means Qembara’s written confirmation, issued on the Host’s behalf, that a Booking Request has been accepted and an Experience Contract has been formed between the Booking Guest and the Host.
Booking Guest means the Guest who submits the Booking Request, contracts with the Host for the Booking and is responsible for payment of the Total Price.
Booking Request means an unconfirmed request to reserve an Experience.
Guest means a person who browses, submits a Booking Request, makes a Booking or participates in an Experience.
Host means the independent third-party supplier identified in the Listing and Booking Confirmation who offers and is contractually responsible to the Booking Guest for delivering the Experience.
Host Amount means the Experience price the Host sets and the Booking Guest owes the Host, collected by Qembara as the Host’s limited payment-collection agent. It includes every unavoidable Host charge and Host taxes where applicable, but excludes the Qembara Guest Service Fee and charges payable to another disclosed supplier.
Host Service Fee means the fee, if any, charged by Qembara to the Host under section 12 of the Host Terms. No Host Service Fee applies at launch.
Payment Method means a card, bank, wallet or other payment method accepted by Qembara or its payment provider for Guest charges.
Payout means the net amount Qembara or its payment provider remits to a Host after authorised deductions.
Payout Method means a bank account or other supported channel selected and verified for Host Payouts.
Qembara Guest Service Fee means the fee, if any, charged by Qembara to the Guest for its marketplace services, set per market and shown before payment.
Total Price means the total amount accepted at checkout, comprising the Host Amount, Qembara Guest Service Fee, applicable taxes and identified third-party charges or selected extras, less any valid discount or credit.
Other capitalised terms have the meanings given in the Guest Terms and Host Terms.
Qembara will display the Total Price before payment and will not add a mandatory Booking charge after confirmation unless law requires it or the Guest expressly accepts a Booking change. A Host must not collect again an amount already collected through Qembara. Each price component is treated as follows:
Host Amount Owed to the Host; collected by Qembara or its designated channel as the Host’s limited collection agent.
Qembara Guest Service Fee Owed to Qembara as principal, if applicable; added on top of the Host Amount, paid by the Guest and shown as a separate line before payment. It is not deducted from the Host Amount.
Host Service Fee Owed by the Host to Qembara, if applicable; deducted from the Host Payout and never added to the Guest’s confirmed Total Price. No Host Service Fee applies at launch, and Qembara will give Hosts at least 30 days’ notice, including tax treatment, before any Host Service Fee applies.
Taxes Collected, withheld, reported or remitted by the party required by applicable law; the checkout and receipt state the tax treatment.
Extras and third-party charges Supplier and charge identified before payment. Mandatory amounts must be included in the disclosed Total Price; optional extras require affirmative selection.
The Qembara Guest Service Fee is a percentage of the Host Amount, set per market. The amount is shown as a separate line at checkout, before the Guest confirms payment, and is recorded in the Booking Confirmation.
Qembara or the legally responsible party will provide the receipt, invoice or tax document required by applicable law. A receipt must not describe the Host Amount as Qembara’s own Experience revenue where Qembara is acting only as collection agent.
Prices are calculated in the currency in which the Host sets the Host Amount and may be displayed in the Guest’s selected display currency, as explained in the Currency Policy. A Booking is charged in the Guest’s selected display currency where that currency is SGD, SAR, MYR or IDR and the currency of the Host Amount can be converted to it; in every other case it is charged in Singapore dollars (SGD). Any other currency shown is an estimate at the rate displayed at checkout, and the amount shown at checkout in the transaction currency is fixed when the Guest pays. The Booking Confirmation records the transaction currency and the component amounts accepted at checkout. If the Guest’s Payment Method uses a different billing currency, the issuer or payment provider may apply its own exchange rate or fee.
A Host may set the Host Amount in SGD, SAR, USD, MYR or IDR. Where the Guest is charged in another currency, Qembara converts the Total Price to that currency at the active exchange rate under the Pricing & Fee Policy and Currency Policy. The Host’s Payout is made in the currency in which the Host set the Host Amount, for the amount shown when the Booking was confirmed; Qembara bears exchange-rate movement between checkout and Payout.
Exchange rates are reference rates set by Qembara, updated from time to time and fixed for each Booking at checkout; amounts are rounded to the nearest 0.01 of the currency, or to the nearest whole unit for IDR.
A Guest-requested Booking change becomes binding only after the Host accepts it where required, the Guest is shown any price difference, and the Guest expressly accepts and pays any increase through the Platform. If the price decreases, Qembara will refund the difference under these Payment Terms and issue an updated Booking Confirmation.
A Host may not impose a new mandatory amount after confirmation. Optional additional services may be purchased only through an authorised Qembara workflow or another method expressly permitted and disclosed by Qembara. Off-platform payment requests that are not a disclosed exception may be treated as a safety, fraud or circumvention concern.
Instalments and pay-later options are not offered at launch. If Qembara later offers them, the checkout must state the amount, currency and due date of every scheduled payment, any additional fee, the Payment Method to be charged and the consequence of a failed instalment, and these Payment Terms will be updated before launch.
A Host must have a valid, supported Payout Method and provide accurate identity, business, beneficial-owner, bank and tax information reasonably required by Qembara, its payment provider or law. Qembara may hold a Payout while required verification is incomplete. Information will be handled under the Privacy Policy and applicable provider terms.
Payouts are paid by bank transfer to a verified account in the Host’s legal or business name, with no minimum Payout. Qembara bears its own transfer charges and will show any third-party bank charge before the Host confirms the Payout Method.
The Host is responsible for the accuracy of payout instructions it submits. Qembara will use reasonable controls for changes to sensitive payout details. Qembara will notify the Host’s registered email address of every change to payout details and may hold Payouts to a new or changed account for up to 3 business days while the change is verified.
A Payout is conditional on successful Guest collection and is calculated from the Host Amount after authorised deductions. Valid payment of the Host Amount through Qembara or a Qembara-designated collection channel fully discharges the Guest’s corresponding payment obligation to the Host. Qembara’s settlement obligation after valid collection is separate from the Guest’s discharged payment obligation. After valid receipt, the Host may not pursue the Guest merely because Qembara or its provider later fails to remit. The Guest becomes liable again only to the extent a reversal was caused or authorised by that Guest, or applicable law expressly permits recovery. A Host-caused reversal or delivery dispute may be allocated to the Host under these Payment Terms.
Subject to successful Guest collection and any lawful, proportionate hold, Qembara will ordinarily initiate the Host Payout by the end of the business day after the scheduled Experience starts. Initiate means Qembara has released the Payout into the applicable payout process; it does not mean the Host has received cleared funds. Timing is measured in the local time at the Experience location unless the Host dashboard expressly states another operational cut-off. Any different schedule for a defined Host risk category must be proportionate, disclosed before it applies and consistent with applicable law.
Provider or bank settlement after Qembara initiates a Payout may take longer. The Host dashboard will distinguish scheduled, held, initiated, paid, failed or rejected, and adjusted Payouts so that initiation is not described as receipt. Each Payout is calculated as follows:
Host Amount Starting amount attributable to the confirmed Booking.
Host Service Fee Deducted only if disclosed and applicable to the Booking.
Required tax withholding Deducted where law requires Qembara or its provider to withhold.
Refund and chargeback allocation Deducted or recovered only to the extent allocated to the Host under section 11 or 12.
Host cancellation charge Deducted only where a charge applies under section 14 of the Host Terms.
Other authorised adjustments Only identified, explainable amounts permitted by the accepted contractual suite and shown on the Host statement.
Qembara may delay or withhold only the amount reasonably necessary for an evidenced refund, chargeback, fraud, safety, sanctions, tax, identity, legal, payment-provider or account risk. The ordinary maximum hold is 30 calendar days, reviewed at least every 7 calendar days, unless law, a competent authority, a payment-scheme deadline or a continuing evidenced exposure reasonably requires longer. Qembara will release undisputed funds when they are no longer reasonably needed for that exposure and, where legally permitted, give the Host a reason and status.
Qembara may use a proportionate rolling or transaction-specific reserve only if the Host was told the basis, calculation, review basis and release conditions. A reserve must not be used to disguise an indefinite withholding of undisputed funds.
If a Payout fails or is rejected, Qembara will notify the Host through the account or registered contact route and provide a reasonable opportunity to correct the Payout Method. Reprocessing may be subject to provider rules and any lawfully disclosed third-party fee.
Refund entitlement is determined by the Cancellation and Refund Policy and mandatory law. These Payment Terms govern how an approved monetary refund is processed. A Guest who cancels before the Listing’s cancellation deadline (Flexible – 24 hours or Advance Preparation – 72 hours) receives a full refund, including the Qembara Guest Service Fee. Once Qembara determines that a Guest refund qualifies, Qembara will pay that refund without waiting to recover any Host-funded portion.
A full refund means 100% of the monetary amounts actually charged through Qembara for the affected Experience. This includes the Host Amount, associated Qembara Guest Service Fee, taxes and Experience-specific extras or third-party charges included in the Qembara checkout. An unrecoverable supplier, acquiring or payment-processing cost does not reduce a qualifying Guest-facing full refund.
A monetary refund is returned to the original Payment Method where reasonably possible. If that method cannot receive the refund, Qembara will use another lawful method after appropriate verification. Credit or rebooking does not replace money unless the Guest affirmatively chooses it after being told the monetary amount otherwise due.
Qembara will initiate an approved monetary refund within 2 business days after the cancellation is recorded or Qembara determines that the refund is due. Initiate means Qembara has submitted the refund into the applicable payment process. Bank, wallet, card-network or payment-provider posting time begins after initiation and may vary. Qembara will show an available status or reference number and a reasonable expected range where the provider supplies one. A settlement delay does not convert an approved monetary refund into credit.
Qembara uses the hybrid allocation stated in section 13 of the Host Terms and the Cancellation and Refund Policy. The Host ordinarily funds the Host-side portion of a refund caused by Host cancellation, non-performance, a Host-responsible Material Issue, inaccurate Listing, Host breach or acts of Host personnel or suppliers. Qembara funds any refund of the Qembara Guest Service Fee and a refund caused solely by its own Platform, payment-processing or support failure. Where both contributed, the burden is allocated reasonably by contribution and evidence.
Qembara may recover a properly allocated Host-funded amount by withholding an unpaid Payout, applying an agreed reserve, offsetting a future Payout, creating a negative Host balance or requesting direct repayment. Each adjustment must identify the Booking, reason, component amounts and calculation. Qembara will not reduce the Guest’s approved refund because Host recovery is incomplete.
If an amount has already been paid out, the Host must repay it within 14 calendar days after notice. Qembara will send a reminder after 7 days; if the amount remains unpaid after 14 days, Qembara may offset it against future Payouts and pause new Bookings until it is settled. A Host may dispute an adjustment through the administrative review in section 15 of the Host Terms; a good-faith dispute does not delay the Guest refund.
A Guest may have statutory or payment-scheme rights to dispute a transaction with an issuer or payment provider. Nothing here prevents a right that cannot lawfully be excluded. However, a Guest must not intentionally obtain duplicate recovery for the same amount through both a Qembara refund and a chargeback or other payment dispute.
A chargeback does not automatically prove Host fault. Qembara will allocate each economic component using the reason code, evidence of payment and delivery, the Cancellation and Refund Policy, responsibility for the disputed event, applicable law and payment-scheme rules. The disputed Host Amount may be allocated to the Host only to the extent supported by that assessment. Qembara ordinarily bears reversal of the Qembara Guest Service Fee unless Host conduct caused the dispute. A processor or card-scheme dispute fee may be allocated to the Host only under an expressly disclosed, reasonable rule and only where the Host is responsible for the dispute. A dispute caused by Qembara’s processing error is not shifted to the Host merely because it relates to a Host Booking.
The Host must provide requested evidence within 7 calendar days after Qembara’s request. Qembara will make the request through the Host account and registered email, and will consider late evidence where the payment scheme still allows it. The Host may request one administrative review of the allocation under section 15 of the Host Terms.
Qembara may provisionally withhold the disputed Host Amount while a chargeback is open, but must distinguish a provisional hold from a final allocation and release any amount no longer reasonably exposed. Qembara will reconcile any prior or simultaneous Guest refund so the Guest does not receive duplicate recovery for the same component. Reversal after a Host Payout may be recovered only under section 11, and the final allocation must remain auditable at Booking and component level.
Qembara will take reasonable steps to correct payment-processing errors it identifies. A correction may include releasing an authorisation, refunding or collecting a shortfall with lawful authority, correcting a Host statement, or reversing a duplicate or erroneous Payout. Qembara will provide a reasonably intelligible transaction record.
If a Host receives a duplicate or erroneous Payout, the Host must notify Qembara and return the amount that was not due. Qembara may recover that amount using the recovery methods in section 11 after notice. If a Guest is charged twice for the same amount, Qembara will promptly investigate and reverse the duplicate charge where confirmed.
Hosts remain responsible for identifying, registering for, reporting and paying taxes applicable to them or their Experiences except where law requires Qembara or a payment provider to collect, withhold, report or remit. Hosts must provide accurate tax information and required invoices or supporting records.
Qembara may collect, withhold, report or remit taxes when legally required and may provide information to tax or governmental authorities as required by law. Qembara will not describe a tax deduction as a Qembara fee. Where required, the Host statement or Guest receipt will identify the relevant tax treatment.
Guests and Hosts must not use Qembara payments for fraud, money laundering, sanctions evasion, unlawful transactions, cash advancement, artificial circular payments, unauthorised card use, misleading refund claims or other prohibited financial activity.
A Host must not request an undisclosed mandatory fee or ask a Guest to move a Booking payment off Qembara primarily to avoid Qembara’s charges, records or safeguards. A Host may collect an amount offline only where Qembara permits that category and the Listing expressly discloses the amount, recipient and method before checkout, and the collection method is lawful. Optional extras must follow the approved Qembara workflow where available.
Qembara will never ask anyone to pay by bank transfer, cash, gift card, cryptocurrency or a payment link sent by message or email outside the Platform. If anyone, including a person claiming to be a Host or Qembara, asks for payment in any other way, do not pay and report it to Qembara Support.
Qembara or its payment provider may conduct proportionate identity, account-ownership, fraud, sanctions, restricted-transaction and other payment-compliance checks where required or reasonably permitted for lawful payment operations. A payment, Payout or Booking may be delayed, declined, restricted or cancelled when required by law, a competent authority, payment-scheme rules or an evidenced material risk. Any hold on Guest funds is limited as stated in section 22 of the Guest Terms.
Where legally permitted, Qembara will explain a material payment restriction at an appropriate level and provide a route to correct inaccurate information. Qembara may act urgently without advance notice where notice would undermine fraud prevention, safety, a lawful investigation or a legal restriction.
After Host account termination, Qembara will provide a final statement and release any undisputed Payout balance after authorised deductions and expiry of a lawful reserve or hold. Termination does not erase accrued refund, chargeback, fee, tax, negative-balance or correction obligations.
If Qembara cannot deliver a Payout because the Host does not maintain a valid Payout Method or does not respond to reasonable contact attempts, Qembara will make at least three contact attempts over 90 days using the Host’s registered email and telephone number and will then hold the balance for the Host and handle it under applicable law. These Payment Terms do not authorise Qembara to keep a Host’s undisputed balance merely because time has passed.
Payment and payout functionality depends on banks, card networks, wallets, processors and other third parties. Qembara does not guarantee that every Payment Method or Payout Method is available in every market. Qembara may add or remove methods for legal, security or operational reasons, but will not retroactively change the financial entitlement for a confirmed Booking solely because a method is withdrawn.
A third-party provider may impose its own transaction, bank-receipt or currency-conversion fee where lawful. Qembara will disclose a fee it controls before the user commits to it. A fee imposed independently by a user’s bank or issuer may appear separately and is outside Qembara’s control, subject to mandatory law.
Qembara will retain transaction records reasonably necessary to administer Bookings, payments, refunds, Payouts, chargebacks, tax duties, complaints and legal obligations in accordance with the Privacy Policy and applicable retention requirements. Users should review receipts and Host statements promptly and report an apparent error without unreasonable delay.
Contact Qembara about a payment through the Help Centre or support@qembara.com. Report suspected payment fraud immediately through the in-app “Report an urgent issue” form, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Qembara aims to acknowledge an ordinary payment complaint within two business days and provide a substantive response within 14 calendar days or explain why more time is needed.
A payment complaint should identify the Booking reference, transaction, amount, date, requested outcome and relevant evidence. Do not send full card numbers, passwords, security codes or sensitive identity documents by ordinary email unless Qembara has specifically provided a secure route.
Qembara may update these Payment Terms prospectively for legal, regulatory, security, provider or product changes. Qembara will show the new effective date and give reasonable notice of a material change that increases a user’s obligations or reduces rights before it takes effect where required; a Host must accept material changes as stated in section 1 of the Host Terms. The version accepted or otherwise lawfully applicable to a confirmed Booking will be retained with the Booking record, and Qembara will not use a later version to retroactively worsen a confirmed Booking’s payment or refund position.
These Payment Terms do not exclude a payment-service, consumer, card-scheme, chargeback, refund or other right that applicable law does not permit the parties to exclude. They are governed by Singapore law, without removing mandatory protection applicable at a user’s residence. Subject to mandatory rights, Singapore courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction.
Disputes are handled under the dispute provisions of the Guest Terms (section 29) or Host Terms (section 31) that apply to the relevant user relationship. A Guest may use an available consumer dispute-resolution process, such as the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) or the Small Claims Tribunals of Singapore where eligible. A Host and Qembara may agree to mediation under the Mediation Procedure of the Singapore Mediation Centre. Notices to Qembara must be sent to support@qembara.com.
If a provision is invalid or unenforceable, it will be modified only to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions will continue. A delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver. Payment, refund, Payout, chargeback, tax, negative-balance and record-keeping provisions survive account closure where necessary to give them effect.
QEMBARA EXPERIENCES PRIVATE LIMITED operates the Qembara Platform and provides marketplace, booking, payment-facilitation and support services. Except where a Listing expressly identifies Qembara as the supplier, Qembara is not the Host and is not a party to the Experience Contract.