Frequently asked questions

No. You can browse vendors, services, and stories without signing up. You'll need an account to send inquiries, save favourites, or check out — that's when we ask you to register.

Use the Event Planner. Create an event with the date, location, headcount, and budget, then pick the categories you need (photographer, catering, decor, etc.). We match real vendors to each slot and let you shortlist, compare, and book them all from one dashboard.

Yes. From the vendor's profile, hit "Message vendor". You can negotiate, ask questions, and request a custom quote. Messages are logged so you have a record if anything goes sideways later.

Contact details (phone, WhatsApp, full address) unlock automatically once you've paid the deposit and the booking is confirmed. Before that, you message through the platform — which keeps you protected by escrow and our dispute resolution. Once the booking is locked in, you get direct contact for event-day coordination.

Yes — we'll email you a review prompt 1–2 days after the event date. Reviews are public and tied to the booking, so vendors can't fake ratings, and customers see real experiences.

Stripe (credit/debit cards), Billplz, and ToyyibPay (FPX online banking for major Malaysian banks). All payments are processed via PCI-DSS compliant gateways — Amboi never sees or stores your card numbers.

Escrow means we hold your payment until the event is delivered. When you pay a deposit, the money goes into a holding account managed by our payment partner. After the vendor delivers and a short hold window passes (3 days by default), funds release to the vendor automatically. If anything goes wrong, you can open a dispute before the release window closes.

Most vendors require a 20–30% deposit at booking and the balance closer to the event date — typically 7 days before. The exact split is set per vendor; you'll see it before you confirm. We send balance reminders so you're not surprised.

After the refund is approved, you'll see the money back in your original payment method within 3–5 business days. Bank settlements can take a bit longer outside business hours. We'll email you when the refund is initiated.

Amboi advances the refund from platform funds so you get paid immediately. We then claw back the amount from the vendor's next payout. You should never feel the impact of a vendor's cash-flow situation.

Yes — fully refundable until the vendor accepts your inquiry. After acceptance, the vendor's cancellation policy applies. Most vendors offer partial refunds depending on how far ahead of the event you cancel. The full policy is in our Refund Policy.

Sign up as a vendor at /register/vendor. Complete your business profile (SSM, halal status if applicable, contact details), upload identity + business docs for KYC, then list your services. Once admin verifies, you're live.

A platform commission on each booking — 8% by default. Higher subscription tiers (Standard / Premium) get listing-limit increases and a commission discount. There's no listing fee for the Basic tier.

When your booking reaches "delivered" status (you mark the event complete), funds release from escrow after a 3-day hold window. The money lands in your vendor wallet, ready to be paid out to your bank account on the next payout cycle (weekly by default).

SSM business registration certificate, the registered owner's NRIC/passport, and a recent utility bill or bank statement. For halal-related listings, add your JAKIM or state-Islamic-authority halal certificate. For SST-registered businesses, your SST registration letter.

Yes — set blackout dates on the availability calendar, or pause individual listings. Customers won't be able to book on the blocked dates. Your overall profile stays visible.

No. You can decline with a reason. We track response rates publicly though — being responsive matters for ranking. If you're going to be slow, set a longer response SLA in your profile so customer expectations match.

Vendors declare their halal status — JAKIM-certified, state-certified, self-declared, pork-free + no alcohol, or not applicable. JAKIM and state certs require a valid certificate number and expiry date. Admin manually cross-checks against the JAKIM directory before stamping the verified badge. We automatically hide the badge when a cert lapses, so customers always see current status.

Only if the vendor is SST-registered (annual service revenue above the LHDN threshold). When SST applies, it's 8% added to the booking total. The breakdown is shown at checkout — never hidden.

Yes. When the e-invoice mandate phase reaches you, we auto-submit each confirmed booking to MyInvois with the IRBM-required fields (TIN, MSIC code, SST breakdown). You can also generate credit / debit / refund notes from the booking page. The full ledger lives in your vendor compliance dashboard.

Vendors who serve alcohol must declare it. Customers booking those vendors get an explicit acknowledgement step. Customers with halal-only preferences can't book alcohol-serving vendors at all — the search filter excludes them.

We comply with Malaysia's PDPA 2010. Data is encrypted at rest, access is role-gated, and we never share customer data with vendors beyond what's needed for service delivery (your name + contact unlocks at booking confirmation only). Full details in our Privacy Policy.

From the booking page, click "Open dispute". Pick a reason (no show, late, mismatch, damage, fraud, etc.), describe what happened, and attach evidence (photos, screenshots, receipts). The vendor gets a chance to respond. If you can't resolve it together, either of you can escalate to Amboi admin.

Tell us. Off-platform payments mean no escrow, no dispute protection, no SST receipt, no record at all. We automatically detect when phone numbers, WhatsApp links, or email addresses appear in chat before booking confirmation — those messages are masked and flagged. Repeat off-platform attempts can get a vendor suspended.

We never see or store your card details. Payment processing is handled by PCI-DSS Level 1 partners (Stripe, Billplz, ToyyibPay). Your card data goes directly from your browser to the gateway, encrypted end-to-end.

You'll get an email + an in-app notification with the reason. Listings flagged by the compliance scanner (drug content, undeclared alcohol, halal inconsistency) are paused pending review. You can appeal — open a support ticket and our team checks it within 24 hours.

Yes. From your profile, "Delete account". We anonymise your personal data within 30 days. Booking records are retained for 7 years per Malaysian tax law (LHDN audit requirement) but your name + contact get scrubbed.