Can I take card payments on my portal and have the money go straight into my own bank account?

Yes, in most cases the money can go straight into your own bank account, but it depends on the payment gateway you use and the rules in the country where your business is registered.

A white label portal does not hold your money itself. It connects to a payment gateway that you open in your own company name, and the gateway settles the takings into the bank account you registered with it. Your portal passes the booking amount across, the customer enters their card details on the secure page provided by the gateway, and the gateway tells the portal whether the payment went through so the booking can be confirmed. Because the merchant account belongs to you, the settlement timing, the charges and any amount held back are set by the gateway and your bank, not by the portal.

There are limits worth knowing before you plan around this. Not every gateway can be connected, so if you already use one, it is worth checking that it is supported before you commit. Some gateways are also slow to approve travel businesses, or ask for extra paperwork, because travel is treated as a higher risk trade. You should also remember that you still have to pay your suppliers for the flights and hotels, and that money often leaves your account on a different schedule from when your customer pays you, so keep an eye on your cash position in the first few months.

The sensible next step is to ask which gateways your portal can connect to, and then apply for a merchant account in your own company name so the takings land where you want them from the first booking.