You have enough on your plate without adding payment headaches. Between sending invoices, chasing deposits across separate links, explaining fees to clients, and reconciling payouts that never quite match what you billed, collecting payment can turn into a part-time job.

Curate Payments takes that off your plate. When your client pays by card, they opt in to Curate’s 3.5% platform fee at checkout, Curate collects it directly, and you receive 100% of the payment. There’s no processing fee to back out of each deposit. Your client sees the fee clearly before they pay, so there’s nothing for you to calculate or explain. And they pay from the same proposal link they approve, with every payment recorded against the project automatically.

Customers tell us it’s one of the biggest simplifications to their back office.

These amounts describe the platform fee arrangement when your client pays the card fee. Other applicable charges and account settings may affect your payout.

The platform fee is Curate’s fee for using Curate Payments and the infrastructure behind it.

Curate sets the rate. When your client chooses to pay by card, they opt in to paying the fee at checkout, and Curate retains that fee. It is separate from the payment toward your invoice.

Your business receives 100% of the payment toward the project when your client pays the card platform fee.

The platform fee supports secure payment processing, ongoing maintenance and improvement of the Curate platform, and the convenience of paying online straight from the proposal.

Your client opens the proposal and selects Pay under Scheduled Payments.

On the Make a Payment screen, they choose Card or ACH.

When they choose Card, the screen displays:

The Pay button also displays the total before they continue.

When your client chooses ACH, their payment has no client-paid platform fee. Your business pays the ACH platform fee through a deduction from your payout.

This example assumes your client pays the card platform fee and adds no gratuity.

To issue a full refund, open the project’s Payments page, find the payment under Payment History, click the three dots, and choose Refund Transaction.

In the refund window, check Platform Fee if you also want to refund the client’s 3.5% platform fee. If you include it, the platform fee amount is also deducted from the project’s Amount Paid.

Refunds typically take 5–10 business days to reach your client’s account.

Partial refunds are issued from your Stripe Dashboard.

Additional fees may apply in these situations:

Rules about payment fees and how they’re disclosed vary by state and, in some places, by city or county, and they can change.

Under the Curate Processing Terms, you agree to follow the laws and card network rules that apply to your business.

We recommend telling clients about the platform fee in your proposal or contract and checking with your own advisor about the rules where you operate.

The full platform fee goes to Curate. When your client pays the card platform fee, you receive 100% of the payment toward your project.

Curate sets and retains the platform fee for using Curate Payments. Your client chooses card payment at checkout and pays the fee separately from the payment toward your invoice.

For questions about how payment-fee rules apply to your business, consult your own advisor.

State surcharge rules address charges associated with paying by credit card. Curate structures its platform fee as a charge for using Curate Payments, paid by your client at checkout and retained by Curate.

Your advisor can assess how the applicable rules apply to that arrangement and your business. Rules can vary by state and locality.

Visa’s surcharge rules concern fees classified as surcharges. Curate sets the 3.5% platform fee for using Curate Payments and retains it separately from the payment toward your invoice.

Consult your advisor about the applicable card network and legal requirements.

The platform fee is for using Curate Payments. The rate is 3.5% for card payments, including debit and prepaid cards.

You can absorb the card platform fee so your client pays only the payment amount, or turn off card payments.

Clients can pay by card or ACH through Curate, or use an outside payment method your business accepts, such as a check.

Card payments through Curate include a client-paid platform fee unless your business absorbs it. ACH payments through Curate have a platform fee paid by your business.

Payments made outside Curate Payments fall outside this platform fee arrangement.

Explain the fee and available payment methods before your client pays.

Sample wording :

"Card payments made through our online payment portal include a 3.5% platform fee charged by Curate, our payment platform, for use of its service. We do not receive any part of this fee. You may instead pay by ACH bank transfer through the portal, or by check, with no platform fee added to your payment."

Adapt the wording to the payment methods your business accepts and whether you absorb the card platform fee.

Explain who manages the fee and offer to connect the client with Curate for more information.

Sample reply:

“Hi [Customer Name],

Thanks for asking about the platform fee. Curate, the payment platform we use, sets and collects this fee for use of its payment service. The fee goes directly to Curate, separately from your payment toward our invoice.

You can also pay by ACH through the portal, or use another payment method we accept, with no platform fee added to your payment.

We’re happy to connect you with the Curate team if you’d like more detail about how the fee works.”

Questions about Curate Payments? Visit How To Contact Customer Support for ways to reach our team.