Accepting Zelle payment for postage?

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Y’all are becoming my immediate go to —- thank you for being here!

A family left this morning and this afternoon I discovered they left a laptop behind. I’m happy to send it back to them but on this occasion, I’d like to be reimbursed for shipping cost and she offered, so that’s great.

My question: she offered to pay via Zelle. Should I do that or let her know that I want to go through ABB. How does it work going through ABB? Is there a downside to using Zelle?

Any guidance is much appreciated.

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I don’t know exactly how it works going through the resolution center, but I would assume you may need to account for Airbnb commissions, transaction fee, and that it would be reported on your 1099-K. I’d be inclined to just use Zelle to eliminate the hassle.

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3

Zelle is bank to bank as far as I know, and it’s safe, was just reading up on it.

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4

I don’t see any need to go through Airbnb for that. Just make sure she sends the money before you send the laptop. There shouldn’t be any issue- I’m sure she wants her laptop back. (And the shipping should include insurance on a pricey item like that)

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Great - thanks all of you for your input. I’ll go for Zelle. And I’ll be heading to FedX in the morning!

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6

Zelle, Venmo or PayPal. Absolutely no reason to go through Airbnb. I’ve always used PayPal.

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I have a Canadian bank account, so if a guest is also Canadian, they can just do an Interac transfer. I get an email asking which bank I want to deposit it into, and it’s done.

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With Interac neither the sender nor the recipient has any details about the other person’s bank account… you just send from your online bank account to the recipient’s e-mail address… recipient then clicks on a link in an incoming e-mail, then logs in (using their regular password) to their own bank account and the system deposits their money. All federally chartered Canadian banks and most credit unions in the country offer this service to their depositors.

Sender includes a “challenge question” – something the recipient is bound to know or something they have agreed on in a separate conversation/e-mail

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9

Zelle is amazing. Bank-to-bank transaction that is safe and secure. I use it all the time for my clients and even friends (splitting checks, etc.).

Check that your bank supports Zelle - some are still getting on board. It started as a Chase app.

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Update: The laptop has been sent and she already reimbursed me via Zelle. Super easy.

Thanks to all for your advice!

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It’s great when the guest offers to reimburse you for shipping costs. Regarding payment methods, Zelle or any other peer-to-peer payment service should not be used for Airbnb transactions. This is because peer-to-peer payment services are not covered by Host Protection or Airbnb’s Host Insurance. Therefore, if there is a problem with the transaction, such as if a customer claims they never received the laptop or a dispute about shipping fees, you will not be covered by Airbnb.

Instead, it’s best to manage your refund through the Airbnb platform. You can ask guests to send you money through the Airbnb Problem Center. This way, the transaction will be recorded and protected by Airbnb, and you will have a record of refunds in the event of a dispute.

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