What Is a Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway is a service that allows merchants to accept payments made by credit card. The term refers to both the card-reader devices we see in retail stores and the payment processing portals used in online stores.
Payment gateways are the technology that moves money from your client’s credit card bank to your business’s bank account, also known as the merchant account. Most credit card processing services will not allow you to accept payments until you apply and are approved for a merchant account.
Getting setup with a payment gateway makes it easy for guests to book and pay directly on your site. This means they can save on fees and commissions that are usually applied on online travel agency platforms.
Using a payment gateway makes payments more manageable and straightforward. You want to make sure your payment gateway is reliable and easy to use for your customers as complications can make potential guests shy away from booking your property.
Payment Gateway Providers for Vacation Rentals
Some of the most common payment gateway providers for vacation rentals include:
- Braintree
- Stripe
- Authorize.net
- Payyo
- PayPal
- ApplePay
Best Payment Gateway for Vacation Rental Websites
All of the payment gateways mentioned above can be integrated into your vacation rental website with the right software.
At Lodgify, we offer Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Authorize.Net, and Payyo (only available for property owners on request). Since all of our websites accept credit card payments, hosts can automate time-consuming tasks such as refunds and scheduled payments.
While PayPal is not considered a payment gateway, guests can still use it to pay for their bookings if they’re logged in and have a credit card registered to the account.
Read more on how to activate a credit card gateway on your website here.
What Payment Gateway Does Airbnb Use?
Airbnb’s payment gateways are fully integrated with their website, meaning it’s difficult to pinpoint which technology they are using. However, according to their website, Airbnb accepts payment methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.