How Vumvum works

Vumvum is a peer-to-peer car rental marketplace. Car owners (we call them hosts) list their vehicles, and travelers (we call them renters) book those vehicles by the day. The same account can do both. Most people start as a renter and become a host later.

We don't own the cars. We provide the platform that connects the two sides: search and discovery, identity verification, in-app messaging, payment processing, an inspection workflow that protects both parties, and support when something goes wrong.

Vumvum operates in Rwanda and across East Africa. Prices can be set in local currency (RWF, KES, UGX, TZS) or USD, and the platform converts between them so renters and hosts in different countries can transact smoothly.

You can browse the entire catalog at / without signing in. You only need an account to book a car, send a message, or list a vehicle.

Sign up with an email and password at /register, or use a single tap with Google or Apple sign-in. OAuth and email accounts use the same underlying profile. If you sign up with email and later use Google with the same address, the accounts are linked automatically.

Forgot your password? Visit /forgot-password and we'll email you a 6-digit reset code. The code is good for a short window, so request a new one if it expires.

Before your first booking and before your first listing, you need to pass identity verification. This protects everyone on the platform from fraud and impersonation.

You'll be asked to capture three photos:

• The front of your driver's license
• The back of your driver's license
• A selfie that we can match against the license

Take the photos in good lighting, fit the whole document inside the frame, and keep your face centred for the selfie. Most submissions are reviewed within 24 hours. If we need a clearer photo we'll flag the submission with a reason and you can re-upload from /kyc.

The home page is the main search surface. Pick a city and dates, and you'll see every car available for that window. Filters let you narrow by make and model, transmission (automatic / manual), fuel type, number of seats, and price range.

Each listing shows the daily rate, the host's rating, photos, features, pickup location, and any reviews left by previous renters. Tap a listing to open the full detail view with a date picker.

Prices are displayed in your preferred currency, which you can set at /settings/currency. Behind the scenes everything is stored in USD and converted using the latest exchange rate for your currency, so what a Rwandan host sees in RWF and a Kenyan renter sees in KES are the same trip.

On a vehicle's detail page, pick a start and end date and tap Request to book. The request goes to the host for review. The host can accept, decline, or message you to ask a question first. You'll get a push notification and an email the moment they respond.

Once the host accepts, you pay through the app. We accept Visa and Mastercard via Stripe, and MTN Mobile Money or Airtel Money for Rwanda-based renters. Funds are held by the platform until the trip completes. The host doesn't receive the money while the car is still out.

A booking moves through these statuses: pending → confirmed → active → completed. It can also end in cancelled or disputed if something goes wrong.

When pickup time approaches, both you and the host will be prompted to complete a pre-trip inspection. The host walks around the car taking photos (exterior panels, wheels, interior, dashboard) and records the starting odometer. The renter reviews and confirms, or flags anything that doesn't match. Photos are the primary evidence if there's a damage dispute later, so don't skip this step.

During the trip you can message the host any time from the booking detail screen: questions about the car, requests for an extension, anything. Notifications go straight to the other party.

At the end of the trip, both sides complete a post-trip inspection following the same photo + odometer pattern. Once both have submitted, the booking moves to completed.

If neither party submits a post-trip inspection, the platform auto-completes the booking after the end date so funds aren't held indefinitely.

The host's payout was already released 24 hours after pickup (see Payouts), so completion just marks the booking done. Both parties are prompted to leave a review. We send a reminder if you haven't reviewed within a few days. Reviews are public on the other party's profile.

You can see all your trips at /trips. Tap any one to re-open the inspection photos, message thread, and receipt.

If a host finds damage that wasn't recorded in the pre-trip inspection, they can file a damage report from the booking detail screen. The report includes a written description, severity level (minor, moderate, severe, or total loss), photos, and a repair estimate.

Damage reports must be filed within 72 hours of trip completion. After that window the booking is locked from new reports.

The renter is notified immediately and can dispute the report by opening the relevant trip in /trips. If a dispute is filed, the booking moves to disputed and our support team reviews the evidence from both sides (inspection photos, messages, the damage report itself) and makes a determination.

Renter cancellation depends on how close you are to the pickup time:

• More than 24 hours before pickup: free cancellation, with no cancellation fee.
• Within 24 hours of pickup: cancellations through the app are blocked. If you have an emergency, contact [email protected] and we'll review case by case.

A host who cancels a confirmed booking sends a refund to the renter and may have their listing temporarily restricted. Repeated host cancellations can lead to removal from the platform.

Refunds go back to the original payment method. Mobile money refunds typically arrive within 24 hours; card refunds may take 5 to 10 business days depending on the issuer.

Anyone with a valid driver's license, a passed KYC, and a roadworthy vehicle can host. Start the listing flow at /vehicles/add. You'll be asked for:

• Make, model, year, transmission, fuel type, seats
• Several clear photos (exterior, interior, dashboard)
• Pickup city and address
• Your daily rate, in any supported currency
• Country-specific registration documents (in Rwanda, the yellow card; equivalents are listed in each country)
• A current insurance certificate

Once a listing is live, renters can request to book. For each completed booking, Vumvum takes a platform service fee and the rest is your host_payout, the amount that gets queued to your payout method. You'll see both numbers itemized on every booking.

Manage your listings and track your earnings in your host dashboard at /host.

Renters can pay with:

• Card: Visa and Mastercard, processed by Stripe. You can save cards for next time at /profile/payment-methods.
• MTN Mobile Money: for renters with a Rwandan number. You'll receive a USSD prompt on your phone to confirm the payment.
• Airtel Money: same USSD-confirmation flow as MTN.

The platform settles all balances in USD internally, but every screen displays amounts in your preferred currency.

Set up where you want your earnings to land at /profile/payout-method. Supported destinations include a bank account or a mobile money number. You can change the destination at any time; in-flight payouts use the destination on file when they were queued.

As soon as the renter pays, your host payout is created in a pending state. We then release it 24 hours after the renter picks up the car, not after drop-off. So if pickup happens at 10:00 on Monday, the payout flips to paid at 10:00 on Tuesday, even if the trip itself runs for another week. You can see the full history at /host/payouts.

The release is automatic but held back when something is being reviewed. An escalated inspection or a disputed damage report keeps the payout in pending until the review resolves. Cancelled bookings never release.

Vumvum sends push notifications for everything that touches your booking: request received, booking confirmed, payment successful, pre-trip inspection required, message from the other party, post-trip inspection required, payout completed, review prompts, and KYC status changes.

Email summaries cover the same major events for users who don't have push enabled. You can manage your notification preferences from /profile/settings.

A full in-app feed lives at /notifications. Tap any notification to jump to the booking, conversation, or screen it's about.

If something doesn't look right, open a thread with our team at /support. You can attach photos, link to a booking, and the conversation stays in your account so you can come back to it later.

For anything urgent, email [email protected].

Vumvum is operated by two affiliated companies:

• Vumvum LLC: Arizona, USA. Handles card payments via Stripe and serves users in the United States.
• Vumvum Ltd: registered in Rwanda. Handles mobile money payments and serves users in Rwanda and East Africa.

The entity you contract with is the one operating in your country of residence. For the legal fine print, see our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.