Preview · Damage bonds

Damage deposits your renters can’t charge back

A card hold expires in days and a damage charge can be disputed for months. A damage bond is the renter’s own money, paid on Interac debit in Canada or by bank transfer in the US, held on the booking until the boat comes back.

Email us

In preview for invited Canadian and US operators. Preview features are covered by section 21.14 of our Terms of Service.

The problem

The hold runs out before the rules let you charge

When a renter damages a boat, the hold on their card is the only money you have. Visa's own rulebook covers boat and equipment rental, and this is its clock, set against how long Visa lets that hold last.

Longest Visa hold for a boat or equipment rental: 9 days, 18 hours
Earliest Visa lets you charge for damage: About 4 weeks

Damage on a Visa card, by the rulebookCalendar days after the boat comes back, best case

Visa hold, card in person4 days, 18 hours

Extended Visa hold, boat and equipment rental9 days, 18 hours

Send the renter Visa's paperwork10 business days

Wait after the paperwork before you may charge20 business days

Nothing held, and nothing you may charge yetAbout 18 days

Assumes you send Visa’s paperwork the day the boat comes back, five business days to a week and no holidays. After the hold expires, a damage charge is a new charge on a card the renter can dispute, and their bank decides.

Visa Product and Service Rules · 5.8.8.3 · Table 5-19

What Visa asks for before a damage charge

1
A repair estimate
“An estimate of the cost of the damage from an organization that can legally provide repairs”
2
Two quotes, for a rental vehicle
“For damage to a rental vehicle, provides at least 2 quotes from entities that are legally permitted to perform repairs”
3
Their signature in the right place, or initials on every page
“The Cardholder’s signature on the same page as, and close to, the description of the charges that may be covered by the delayed charge Transaction”
4
Telling them the card is optional
“Informs the Cardholder that payment for loss, theft, or damage with the Cardholder’s Payment Credential is optional and not a required or default payment option”
5
Then waiting
“The Merchant must wait 20 business days from the date of the confirmation receipt provided to the Cardholder before processing a delayed charge for damages.”

And after all that

“If agreement is not reached between the Merchant and the Cardholder for the cost of repairing the damage, and if the Merchant processes the delayed charge Transaction, the Cardholder may dispute the Transaction.”

Visa Product and Service Rules, Table 5-19, on processing a delayed charge without the cardholder’s express consent.

A bond skips the whole clock

The renter moves the money themselves, before the boat leaves. Nothing expires, there is no card charge to dispute, and keeping part for damage is a decision you make at check-in.

See how it works

Rules quoted from the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, 18 April 2026 edition, section 5.8.8.3, Table 5-19 (Delayed Charges for Loss, Theft or Damages, which lists boat and equipment rental among eligible merchants). Hold windows from Stripe’s authorization validity windows and extended authorizations. Both read on 18 October 2026. Other card networks set their own windows and rules.

Side by side

A card hold, or a bond

Same deposit amount, same booking. What changes is whose rules the money sits under.

A card hold, or a bond
Feature	Damage bond	Card hold
Who moves the money	Your renter, from their own account	The card network
How long you can hold it	Until you return it	9 days, 18 hours at most on Visa
Keeping some for damage	At check-in, with an amount and a reason	Visa’s paperwork, then a 20 business day wait
Card chargeback	Not a card charge	The renter can dispute it
Cost to you	C$25 / US$25 per bond	Free

How it works

The renter pays the bond themselves

Same booking, same check-in. The deposit is just paid with money the renter moves, instead of a hold you hope is still there.

Canada

Interac debit at the dock

1
Take it at departure
Staff press Take bond. The renter inserts their Canadian debit card and enters their PIN. A credit card is refused, which is the point.
2
Hold it on the booking
Interac cannot be put on hold, so the bond is taken as a payment and held as the renter’s money, not your revenue.
3
Return it at check-in
The renter inserts the same card and gets it back. Keep part for damage, with a reason, and the rest goes back.

Needs a Stripe card reader at the location. No Canadian debit card, as with most visitors? Use a card hold for that booking instead.

United States

Bank transfer before the rental

1
Request it before the rental
The renter is sent bank details, the amount, a reference and a due time, by email and on their booking page.
2
Matched automatically
They send it by ACH or wire from their own bank. Too little and they are asked for the rest; late and your setting decides.
3
Refunded automatically
After the rental, on your usual release time, it goes back to their bank. Keep part for damage first if you need to.

No hardware. Stripe emails the renter for their bank details when the bond is refunded.

Why it holds up

Your renter's money, on your terms

No card chargeback to file

PIN-verified Interac debit and a bank transfer the renter sends are not card charges, so the card chargeback process does not apply. A renter who disagrees with what you kept takes it up with you, under the agreement they signed.

No departure without it

Set a location to Bond required and a booking cannot go on the water without its bond. A manager can let it go anyway, with a reason recorded on the booking.

Held, never earned

A bond is a liability on your books until it is returned or kept. Financials > Bonds Held lists every bond you are holding, oldest first.

Your ledgerNever revenue until kept

Bond receivedDR 1020 CashCR 2170 Customer Bonds Held

ReturnedDR 2170 Customer Bonds HeldCR 1020 Cash

Kept for damageDR 2170 Customer Bonds HeldCR 3015 Damages

Bond feeDR 8194 Platform feesCR 1020 Cash

Customer Bonds Held ties to your Trial Balance.

What it costs

One flat fee per bond, paid by you

The fee covers the processing on the bond, and it is charged once a bond is actually held. Card holds stay free, so you only pay where a chargeback would hurt.

Per bond held

C$25/US$25

Your renter: Pays nothing extra
Card holds: Free, as today
Largest bond: 3,000 (C$ or US$)
Declined, unpaid or cancelled bond: No fee
Bond returned in full: Fee still applies

A bigger deposit

Bonds go up to 3,000

Anything above that stays a card hold, so a large deposit is a bond for most of it and a hold for the rest.

C$4,000 deposit

C$3,000 bond

C$1,000

Interac bond, C$25 feeCard hold, free

Questions

Before you switch a location over

Can a renter still dispute a bond?

They cannot file a card chargeback, because a bond is not a card charge. They can still raise it with you, or in small claims court, like any disagreement about money. Add a clause to your rental agreement saying when a bond may be kept for damage and how it is returned.

What if the renter has no Canadian debit card?

Most visitors will not. Staff can use a card hold for that booking instead, as today, even at a location that requires a bond.

Do I need new hardware?

In Canada, a Stripe card reader at the location, because Interac is taken in person. In the US, nothing: the renter sends the transfer from their own bank.

Which deposits use a bond?

You choose per location: card holds as today, bonds preferred (a card hold when the renter cannot pay a bond), or bonds required. A minimum amount keeps small deposits on card holds, so the fee is only spent where a chargeback would hurt.

What happens if a bond is late?

Under bonds preferred, a card hold is placed instead. Under bonds required, the booking cannot go on the water until the bond arrives, unless a manager lets it go with a reason recorded on the booking.

Who can use it?

Canadian and US locations on RentalTide, by invitation while damage bonds are in preview.

Early access

Want bonds on your fleet?

We are opening damage bonds to a small group of Canadian and US operators first. Tell us about your fleet and your deposits, and we will set it up with you.

Email us

Visa, Interac and Stripe are trademarks of their respective owners, used here only to identify those networks and products. Nothing on this page implies endorsement by, or affiliation with, any of them. The card rules quoted are Visa’s and the hold windows are from Stripe’s documentation, both read on 18 October 2026; they apply to Visa transactions and can change. The product panels are illustrations with made-up names and amounts. This page is not legal advice. Every price on it is RentalTide’s own. If you believe anything here is inaccurate, tell us at sales@rentaltide.com and we will correct it.