Choosing the Right Payment Option
The Holiday-Bookings-Online booking system offers a wide range of payment options to suit your needs. But which payment option is the best for your business?
The ideal payment option would be free, easy to setup, easy for customers to use and you'd receive your money instantly.
Unfortunately none of the payment options reach this level of perfection and all have their pros and cons.
In the table below is a list of common payment options available with the booking system and their benefits and disadvantages:
| Cheque | PayPal | Bank Transfer | Online Card Processing | Payment Over The Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ease of set up |
Very easy - you just need a bank account to pay cheques in to |
Fairly easy. Requires an online form to be filled in and then for your account to be validated. |
No set up required - just a bank account. |
Set up can be quick complex and requires quite a lot of form filling. |
Requires a card processing terminal from a bank or PayPal. PayPal fairly easy to set up - bank terminal can be quite complex and time consuming |
How quick is it to set up |
Very - no set up required if you have a bank account |
Fairly quick - allow 3 - 4 days for completion of validation |
Very quick |
Depends on your bank but allow between 3 - 12 weeks |
10 days for PayPal virtual terminal. 3 - 12 weeks for a terminal from a bank |
Costs |
Free with personal bank accounts. Business accounts may charged fixed fee. |
No monthly fees but there is a per transaction fee which varies from 1.4% to 3.4% + 20p |
Free for you - free for your UK based customers but some overseas customers may have to pay additional charges |
Most banks charge per transaction. Actual rates vary wildly between banks and customers - banks likely to give better rates to high turnover customers. Low turnover (less than £100,000) customers may find transaction fees not much lower than PayPal. Additional monthly and yearly fees charged. |
Monthly fees plus transactions fees. Also requires a SecureHosting card capture account with a yearly and initial set up fee. |
How quickly will I receive payment |
Very slow! Reliant on the customer posting the cheque and you then paying it in to your account |
Normally instant payment in to your PayPal account and then 1 - 3 days to transfer to your bank account. PayPal's eCheques take longer but can be disabled as a payment option. |
Faster payments are virtually instant. Slower bank transfer takes 3 - 4 working days. |
Payment notification very quick - when you'll receive the money from the bank varies from bank to bank. Could be days or sometimes weeks. |
Reliant on the customer calling you but if they do the payment is instant. PayPal virtual terminal payments received instantly you process them and can be in your bank in days. With merchant banks when you'll receive the money from the bank varies from bank to bank. Could be days or sometimes weeks. |
How time consuming is it for the property owner? |
Very time consuming to deal with cheques |
Fairly automated and quick to deal with. |
Generally fairly easy - just requires you to check your bank balance. However sometimes bank transfers fail which can add to the time to deal with them. |
Fairly automated and efficient. |
Semi automated - payment details received immediately but you'll need to manually process the card details. Some card details may prove invalid which requires contacting the customer. |
How easy is it for my customers? |
Not at all easy as involves manually writing the cheque and envelope and posting it |
Fairly easy for most customers and a PayPal account not required. However problems do occur with customers trying to pay with an unvalidated PayPal account - this can be as many as 2 out of 10 customers |
Slightly time consuming as they'll need to create a payment from their online banking or phone their branch. |
Very easy for your customers |
Reliant on your being next to the phone 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. If you are at the phone its easy for customers. But if they call out of office hours its more complex for customers. |
Other notes |
Due to be withdrawn by the banks in the next 6 years. Cheque use has dropped considerably. |
The fact the customer has paid means they are serious about the booking |
The fact the customer has paid means they are serious about the booking |
The fact the customer has called and paid means they are serious about the booking |
|
Summary |
Slow, unreliable but fairly cheap - though you could lose bookings for a promised cheque that never arrives |
Easy to set up and fairly automated. Biggest downside is customers with unvalidated PayPal accounts who are unable to make payment. This can be as much as 2 out of every 10 customers. |
Quicker and easier than cheques and also low cost. Not as quick and easy as PayPal or a merchant account. |
Easy for your customers and time efficient for you. Downside is the monthly fees and complexity of set up. Probably the best method for bigger businesses but less cost effective for one property owners. |
Easy for customers during office hours when you are next to the phone. Can be complex to set up unless you use PayPal's virtual terminal. Fees similar to merchant account or PayPal |