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How to activate a Credit Card Hold

In this article, you will learn how to activate the Credit Card Hold feature for your bookings. This feature allows you to request a financial guarantee from your customers to limit no-shows. 

 

Contents

  1. Set up a Credit Card Hold from the web application
  2. Set up a Credit Card Hold from the mobile application

  3. Common issues & FAQ

     

What you need to know

The Credit Card Hold is an effective tool to reduce no-shows by requesting a financial guarantee at the time of booking. 

To activate it, you will need to create a Zenchef Payment account and connect it to your Zenchef space. This configuration will need to be done in the web application. 

You can use the web app or the iOS mobile app to activate or deactivate Credit Card Hold in your service settings.

 

1. Activate Credit Card Hold

The Credit Card Hold is activated directly in the services. You can do this from the web app or the iOS mobile app.

  • Go to Settings > Reserve > Schedule. Click Edit on the relevant service. 

  • Go to the fourth tab of the service settings: Payment options. 

  • Scroll down, activate Credit Card Hold, and set the following parameters:​

    • Amount to request per guest.

    • Whether guests are automatically requested to send their credit card information following an online reservation, and if so, the minimum number of guests per reservation that triggers this request.

    • Whether Automated cancellation of a reservation happens if guests fail to send their credit card information following a manual request. You can set a Reservation limit indicating how long to wait.

  • Now click on the 3rd tab of the service, called Online automation and scroll down to Cancellations.

  • In the Late Cancellation Deadline section, set a Reservation limit to limit late cancellations of online reservations. This is the time from which you will be entitled to charge this payment. This is part of your cancellation policy terms and conditions, and serves as a protection for your restaurant.

  • Click Save & Close.

Be sure you go on to Step 2 if you have not already set up Zenchef Payment.

 

2. Set up a Zenchef Payment account

You must now create and connect a Zenchef Payment account (payment provider), using the web application. See this article for steps on how to proceed: Activate the payment provider Zenchef Payment.

 

3. Common issues & FAQs

Common issues

  • My customers were able to book without a Credit Card Hold. Check that you have correctly linked a Zenchef Payment account to your Zenchef account. The Credit Card Hold cannot function without this. 
     

  • The Credit Card Hold is not working. Please check that you've created and connected your Zenchef Payment account. Also, have you activated the Credit Card Hold in your service settings?

FAQs

  • What is the difference between the Credit Card Hold and prepayment? The Credit Card Hold is an authorisation to charge in case of a no-show, while prepayment involves collecting the booking amount in advance.
     

  • How do I deactivate the Credit Card Hold? To deactivate the Credit Card Hold feature, go back to your service settings, Payment options, and switch off the Credit Card Hold toggle.