How manual bank transfers work during checkout

Manual bank transfers are a secure way for customers to pay for their booking directly. Customers can use this payment method to make full payments, deposit payments, and balance payments.

Manual bank transfers have lower transaction fees compared to credit and debit cards and chargebacks are non-existent, which makes managing finances and inventory much easier.

To begin using the manual bank transfers feature:

1. Enable it under your Settings > Payments.
2. Under the Payment Methods, switch on the toggle for Manual Bank Transfer and set a Minimum spend. A minimum spend limits the payment method from being used on bookings under the specified amount.

How does it work?

Manual bank transfers are not available if the customer chose a payment plan as their payment method. The manual bank transfer option is only available to customers in the following regions, depending on their currency and billing address:

When the customer selects a payment method in checkout and the above conditions are met, they will see the manual bank transfers payment method option.

When the option is selected, the customer will need to click on Reserve booking to continue. The customer will need to make a manual payment which may take some additional time before the receipt of funds is confirmed. 

Once the customer clicks Reserve booking, stock is reserved and their booking is secured. On the next screen, instructions are provided to the customer on making the manual payment. The instructions are also sent using the automated "Your booking is awaiting payment" notification email. 

The booking remains in a pending state until the customer's funds have arrived. When the customer’s funds have arrived, the booking confirmation email is sent.

Manage manual bank transfer bookings

When a booking is awaiting funds, it cannot be edited. Once a customer has initiated a payment via manual bank transfer, they are unable to switch to another payment method. If the customer needs to switch payment methods, they will need to create a new booking and you can cancel the current booking.

There are two ways to identify bookings made with manual bank transfers.

• In the bookings index under Bookings > All bookings, filter for pending bookings with the state Awaiting bank transfer.
• When looking at the summary of a booking, a booking timeline note will indicate that the customer initiated a bank transfer and we’re awaiting funds.

What happens if the customer never makes the payment?

If the customer has not completed a payment, the booking will remain in a pending state. We would recommend contacting the customer to understand if they will be completing the booking or not. If the customer will no longer be making the payment, you can cancel the booking to allow the stock to become available for purchase.