Is ThinkReservations a payment processor or payment gateway?
No. ThinkReservations connects your business to a processor or gateway. Think of ThinkReservations as a "messenger." You and your guests use ThinkReservations to enter credit card details. ThinkReservations, in turn, sends that data to your payment gateway or processor. Your gateway or processor will reply if there are any errors like a decline and the payment status. ThinkReservations is used to ask your gateway or processor to retain, charge, and refund cards through this connection, but to be clear, it's your payment gateway or processor that performs these tasks, not ThinkReservations.
How is ThinkPayments different from ThinkReservations?
ThinkReservations is the property management software solution that connects your payment processor or gateway. ThinkPayments, powered by Stripe, is a much tighter integration with the ThinkReservations side to allow additional payment options in the online booking process and for staff in the back office part of ThinkReservations. However, it's still Stripe behind the scenes, powering the storage, validation, charging, and refunding of credit card data.
How does Payment Processing work with ThinkReservations?
ThinkReservations connects the cardholder (the guest or customer) with your payment gateway or payment processor. Your payment gateway and processor are responsible for validating, retaining, charging, and refunding payments. They are also responsible for batching out or settling those payments. Your payment processor is also responsible for depositing funds from those transactions into your bank. This is important to understand when troubleshooting.
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Guest (Cardholder): The guest is at the start, as they are the first link to their credit or debit card.
ThinkReservations (PMS & POS): ThinkReservations is the software system that initiates the transaction. Sometimes this is defined as the POS (Point of Sale) or the ECR (Electronic Cash Register).
Payment Gateway: The Gateway could be Authorize.net, BridgePay, Portico, PowerTranz, etc. The Processor and the Gateway are sometimes one and the same, depending on the integration supported by ThinkReservations.
Payment Processor: The Payment Processor is the entity that is responsible for actually routing the transaction data through the networks and managing the final "settlement" or deposit of funds into your bank account.
Card Networks: The Card Networks are the companies that act as the global communication "highways." They route the data from your processor to the guest's specific bank to request approval for the charge.
Issuing Bank: The issuing bank is the entity that provides the credit or debit card to the guest. Their customers are the cardholders. This is the entity that ultimately approves or declines a transaction.
Hotelier’s Bank (Acquiring Bank): Your bank is involved because once a transaction goes through, funds are sent to your bank during payout. If a refund or dispute is triggered, then funds are taken out of this account.
Do I really need to have a payment processor or gateway connected directly with ThinkReservations?
Yes. Your ThinkReservations account must connect to one of our partners to take online reservations.
There is an exception for properties that are located outside the US that cannot get an account with one of our partners. Please contact us to see if your property is eligible for our Vault program.
Options available are:
ThinkPayments
Mercantile Processing, Inc. (MPI)
Heartland Processing
Braintree Payments
Stripe Payments
Tilopay
Authorize.net as a gateway to connect to another processor
How do Gateways work?
If you want to use your existing processor instead of ThinkPayments or another, you might be able to use Authorize.net, BridgePay, or Tilopay (for Latin America). If you use a processor we don't support directly, then it must be connected via one of these gateways. Tilopay is a gateway for businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean.
A gateway acts as a middleman between another processor and ThinkReservations. This gives you more payment processing options than those with a direct integration with or a gateway exclusive to their processor.
Can I use my terminal with my existing processor?
Yes, but transactions run with that terminal will need to be manually updated in the ThinkReservations bill. You can manually post a journal entry payment into ThinkReservations so that ThinkReservations knows you charged the customer. When you charge the customer on a system that isn't connected to ThinkReservations, you will manually add the payment so that the bill is updated, your printed or emailed receipts will be up-to-date, and your reports will be accurate.
Related: Posting EMV Transactions
Currently, only ThinkPayments and Heartland support a direct connection to EMV terminals.
Can I see credit card numbers?
No. ThinkReservations does not store credit card data; instead, it securely passes it to your processor or gateway. It is not possible to view or copy the guest's full credit card details after they are retained in ThinkReservations, as ThinkReservations does not allow you to see full credit card data. (Special exception for clients outside the US using the Vault.)
Is credit card data verified?
ThinkReservations will ensure that the card number is mathematically valid only. Your connected payment processor is responsible for validating and retaining your guests' credit and debit cards. Most do this with a $0 or $1 authorization to ensure that there is a valid and active account associated with that number.
If your payment processor identifies a problem with the card, it will not be possible to retain or charge the card. If your business takes a deposit, guests cannot make an online reservation unless their card can be run for the deposit.
Can I opt to use a different processor that is not one of the choices ThinkReservations offers?
Not typically. Please research and choose one of the partners we connect with. You can likely keep your existing processor by using a payment gateway. If your business is outside the US and no options work for you, please reach out to discuss alternatives.
Can I take online reservations without a connected payment processor?
No. You will not be able to take online reservations until your payment gateway or processor is connected to ThinkReservations properly. For an online reservation to process, a connected payment gateway or processor must verify and retain a valid credit card before a reservation can be confirmed. While waiting for the processor to be connected, your ThinkReservations account can show your availability to your guests but ask them to call to book. Please ask a member of the ThinkReservations support team for assistance with this configuration.
What if I want to switch payment processors?
ThinkReservations offers a menu of different payment processors. ThinkReservations also works with Authorize.net as a gateway to get your business access to even more processors. Because of this, you might find yourself in a position where you would like to switch processors. It's important to keep in mind that ThinkReservations doesn't store the credit card data. This is stored with your processor or gateway. If you disconnect it, you disconnect the ability for ThinkReservations to access those cards to issue refunds or charge their card. You may be able to refund or charge guests directly from the online portal of your old processor. For this reason, some clients might retain access to their old payment processor for some time. Please let us know if you have any questions about payment processors.
Related: Switching Payment Processing
Can I go 'live' without a connected payment processor?
Yes and No. You can update your website to point to ThinkReservations, but you will not be able to take online reservations until your payment processor is connected to ThinkReservations properly. For an online reservation to process, a connected payment gateway or processor must verify and retain a valid credit card before a reservation can be confirmed. While waiting for the processor to be connected, your ThinkReservations account can show your availability to your guests but ask them to call to book. Please ask a member of the ThinkReservations support team for assistance with this configuration.
Is it okay to store a credit card number in a regular text field, like the “Special Accommodations” box?
No, you should never store a credit card number in a regular text field. Regular text fields are not secure and can be easily accessed or exposed, thereby increasing the risk of fraud. Credit card data should always be stored using secure, encrypted systems that comply with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) requirements. In ThinkReservations, credit cards can be stored securely by selecting the “Add Credit Card” button located on the left side of the reservation or bill of sale.