How Parked Funds Works

Create Your Account and Connect Stripe

Sign up for Parked Funds and connect your existing Stripe account. All payments go directly to your Stripe account. You stay in control of your funds. Parked Funds acts as a workflow layer on top of Stripe, handling the mechanics specific to rental businesses.

Once connected, you can customize your branding (logo, colors) and set up email templates that match your business.

Create Payment Links

When you need to collect payment from a customer, create a payment link in Parked Funds. You can choose to:

• Create a bond hold: Park funds as an authorisation (not charged). The customer's card is authorised for the bond amount, which is fully refundable if the vehicle is returned in good condition.
• Take a final payment: Charge the customer immediately for the rental.
• Bundle both: Create a bond hold and take the final payment in one transaction.

Each payment link includes a booking reference, which ties the payment to your rental record. You can also add notes and select a reason code for post-hire charges.

Send Payment Links to Customers

Once created, Parked Funds generates a secure payment link. You can:

• Copy the link and send it via email, SMS, or WhatsApp
• Use the built-in email feature to send automated payment request emails
• Share the link through your booking system or customer portal

The payment page is branded with your logo and colors, so customers see a professional, consistent experience.

Manage Bond Holds

Bond holds are authorisations that "park" funds on the customer's card without charging them. Parked Funds handles:

• Auto-refresh: Bond holds can expire after a certain period. Parked Funds can automatically refresh the authorisation during the rental period, so you don't lose coverage if the rental extends.
• Manual capture: If you need to charge the bond (e.g., for damage), you can capture it manually from your dashboard.
• Release: When the rental is complete and the vehicle is returned in good condition, the bond hold is automatically released. No charge to the customer.

Verify Identity Before Pickup

Parked Funds lets you verify customer identity before they collect the vehicle. Staff click "Send verification email" from the booking screen. The customer receives a secure link and completes verification on their phone using Stripe Identity. Status updates automatically via webhook.

1. Staff click "Send verification email": From the booking screen, staff initiate the verification request.
2. Customer completes secure verification: The customer receives an email with a link. They complete verification using Stripe Identity on their device.
3. Parked Funds tracks status: Status updates automatically (requires input, processing, verified, or canceled).
4. Verified timestamp on booking: Once verified, the timestamp appears on the booking before pickup. You can see at a glance who has completed verification.

We track verification status and timestamps for your records. This helps reduce manual checks at the counter and keeps an audit trail.

Handle Post-Hire Charges

After a rental, you may need to charge for additional costs like tolls, fuel, cleaning, or damage. Parked Funds makes this simple:

1. Create a post-hire charge: Enter the amount, select a reason code (refuelling, late return, damage, cleaning, tolls/infringements, or other), and add notes.
2. Send review email: Parked Funds sends a secure review link to the customer. They see the charge details, booking reference, and can review before approving.
3. Customer approves: The customer clicks "Approve & Pay" and completes payment using their saved payment method or a new card.
4. Payment confirmed: You receive a confirmation email, and the charge is linked to the booking for easy reference.

If a customer disputes a charge, they can submit a dispute directly through the review page. You'll receive a notification and can respond with evidence (photos, notes, timestamps) to resolve the dispute. Parked Funds works hard to reduce chargebacks through transparent workflows, customer consent tracking, and evidence-ready dispute resolution that helps you win chargeback cases.

Track and Manage Everything

Your Parked Funds dashboard shows:

• All payment links and their status (pending, paid, expired)
• Bond holds and their expiration dates
• Identity verification status per booking
• Post-hire charges and their status
• Customer payment history
• Email communication logs
• Dispute records and responses
• Chargeback and dispute health metrics

Everything is linked to booking references, making it easy to find payments and charges for specific rentals. We work hard to reduce chargebacks through transparent workflows, customer consent tracking, and evidence-ready dispute resolution.