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How to take payments for gift certificates, including using Offline Payment options.

Gift Certificate Payment Methods

ReservationKey supports several payment methods for purchasing gift certificates. Depending on which method you choose, payments can be processed automatically online or manually through your own credit card terminal.


Supported Payment Methods

To configure payment methods for gift certificates:

  1. Go to the Website tab.
  2. Select Gift Certificates.
  3. Under the Online Payments section, choose one of the available payment methods.

The payment methods supported for gift certificate purchases include:


Automatic vs. Manual Payment Processing

All payment methods except Offline Credit Card automatically charge the guest’s card at the time of purchase. The Offline Credit Card option requires manual processing, as described below.


Using the Offline Credit Card Method

The offline credit card option works differently from other payment methods. Instead of processing the payment automatically, the system securely divides the card number for manual entry:

To process an offline payment:

  1. When a buyer purchases a certificate, you’ll receive an email containing the first 12 digits of the card number and a link to retrieve the remaining 4 digits.
  2. Combine these numbers to form the full card number.
  3. Enter this card number into your virtual terminal or credit card machine to manually charge the gift certificate amount.

Activating the Gift Certificate

After manually charging the card, you must mark the certificate as paid before it becomes valid for use.

There are several ways to do this:

  1. Go to Website → Gift Certificates → View Certificates Sold.
  2. Find the newly purchased certificate (it will be marked as Purchase Not Completed).
  3. Click Edit and change the Payment Status to Payment Received.
  4. Alternatively, click the Activate Certificate or Mark as Paid link from the list view.

Once the payment status is set to “Payment Received,” the gift certificate becomes valid and can be redeemed by the recipient.


Summary

Gift certificates can be sold through a variety of payment gateways in ReservationKey. Online payment methods (such as PayPal, Yapstone, and Authorize.net) are processed automatically, while the Offline Credit Card option allows for manual entry and control of transactions. Be sure to mark all offline purchases as Payment Received once charged, so the certificate can be redeemed successfully.