Can my customers pay by card on my travel portal, or do I have to collect the money from them myself?

Yes, your customers can pay by card on the portal, as long as a payment gateway is connected to your account. The portal does not process the money itself. It passes the booking total to a gateway you hold in your own travel business name, the customer enters their card details on a secure payment page, and the funds settle into your own bank account on the gateway's normal payout schedule. You keep control of the money, and glideFares does not sit between you and your customer's payment.

What this means in practice is that you need to open a gateway account first, which usually involves the gateway checking your business documents and approving you for travel sales. Which gateways can be connected depends on your plan and on which ones operate in your country, so it is worth telling us which one you are considering before you sign anything with them. Most common card types are supported through these gateways, and you can normally choose to accept full payment at the time of booking or a deposit with the balance collected later, though deposit handling depends on what the supplier allows for that particular product.

You can also keep working the way you do today where it suits you. Bookings made by your staff in the back office can be marked as paid by bank transfer, cash or card machine, and some suppliers bill your agency on credit or from a deposit balance rather than taking the customer's card directly. Refunds are handled through the gateway, so the time it takes for money to reach the customer is set by them and by their bank, not by us.

If you do not already have a gateway, start by asking two or three in your country what they require from a travel business and what they charge, then come back to us with the one you prefer so we can confirm it can be connected to your portal.