Customer booking cancellations

A customer may cancel without charge during the first five minutes of an accepted booking. After that period, a cancellation charge of 10% may apply. The amount and reason are shown in the booking record.

Cancellation by DriveSathi or a driver

If DriveSathi cannot fulfil a prepaid booking, the eligible booking amount will be refunded in full. We may first try to assign another suitable driver where time permits.

Refund eligibility and mode

Approved refunds are returned only to the original payment method used for the transaction — for example the same card, UPI ID or net-banking account. Refunds cannot be redirected to a different card, account or person.

Refunds are initiated by DriveSathi through PayU, which passes the request to the bank/lender used for the payment. For cash payments made directly to a driver, please raise the matter through support and we will help resolve it with the driver.

Refund processing timeline

Approved refunds typically take 5–21 days to reflect in your bank account, depending on the issuing bank and payment method. Some government/net-banking banks may take slightly longer. PayU sends a refund status update by email once the request is processed.

The refund amount is deducted from the merchant settlement and credited back through the same payment channel as the original transaction.

Failed transactions and duplicate debits

If a transaction fails or is dropped but the amount is debited, the bank returns the amount to PayU, and PayU initiates an automatic refund of the unsuccessful transaction to the original payment method. No separate request is normally required, though the same processing timeline applies.

For a duplicate debit or a payment marked failed, contact support with the booking or driver ID and the payment reference so we can verify the gateway record and arrange any eligible reversal or refund.

Driver verification fee

The driver background-verification fee (the current amount is shown at the payment step) must be paid before review begins. Once document and background review has started, this service fee is not refundable. If money is debited but DriveSathi does not receive payment confirmation and verification has not started, contact support with the payment reference and it will be refunded to the original payment method.

Accepted payment methods

Online payments are processed by PayU. Depending on the live checkout, the following methods may be available:

• Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay, American Express)
• Debit cards and debit-card EMI
• UPI (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm and any UPI app) and UPI Autopay mandates
• Net banking from major Indian banks
• Popular wallets (Paytm, PhonePe, Amazon Pay and more)
• Credit-card EMI and Cardless EMI
• Buy Now, Pay Later (where offered by PayU)

How to request help

Use in-app support or the website contact page and include the relevant booking or payment reference. Refund eligibility is assessed against the ride status, payment record and this policy. For unresolved concerns you can contact our Grievance Officer at grievance@drivesathi.in.

Legal entity: DriveSathi. Registered address: available on request. Support: support@drivesathi.in.