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Processors & Gateways - Changing From One To Another

OwnerRez supports an unlimited number of different entries for payment processors and types.  It is possible to have a different processor entry with different accounts for each different property you have.

However, you can only have one credit card processor configured for each property, because OwnerRez has no provision for logic to choose between two different processors for the same property. There is no method to run one processor for bookings and a separate processor for holds only.

Normally this is not a problem - why would you even want more than one credit card processor for one property? - but it can present issues if you need to change from one processor to a different one.  Here is how to do that.

  1. Create the new processor connection, under Settings > Payment Methods.  Run the included tests to make sure it is correctly configured!
  2. Correctly assign the new processor connection to the properties you want to use it on.  This will automatically remove the old processor from those properties. Any payments that are already scheduled for an existing booking on an affected property, will automatically use the new processor instead. You don't have to do anything.
  3. Leave the old processor active but not linked to any properties. 
    • OwnerRez will no longer use the processor for new charges, but if you need to apply a refund against a charge that was made using the old processor, OwnerRez will be able to sort that out automatically.  If you've deleted that processor, OwnerRez won't be able to issue a refund and you'll get an error. 
    • Refunds can only be made against payments, and thus, can only be done using the processor used to make the original payment.
    • If supported by the previous payment processor, any current and active security deposit holds, that were previously scheduled with a prior payment processor and have not yet been released will remain with the prior/old payment processor and charges can be made against those existing and previously scheduled security deposit holds even if it's with the old processor. Again, OwnerRez will handle this transparently for you as long as the processor is still active.
  4. New transactions (first payments, manual payments, scheduled security deposits, refundable damage deposits (RDD), scheduled payments, etc.) will always be run against the new payment processor and attributed to the property at the time those new transactions are attempted. If a scheduled transaction was scheduled before the payment processor change but executed after, the scheduled transaction will be processed through the new payment processor.
  5. When you no longer need to make any refunds against charges made using the old processor, and have no active holds using it either, simply delete the old processor from the Payment Methods list. System refunds are only allowed for up to 6 months anyway (with some processors, only 4), so there is no reason to keep the old processor around longer than that.

Caveats

  • This only works for payment processors of the same type - i.e. a conventional credit card processor.  PayPal is not a conventional card processor even though it does accept credit cards.  You cannot swap between PayPal and a card processor, or vice versa, and keep the credit card data - you'll have to request a new payment from the guest using Send Payment Request on the Booking > Transactions tab.  You'll also need to delete and reschedule all scheduled payments and security deposits for affected bookings.
  • If you are changing from a payment processor that is using a "tokenized" system, as is now required in Europe, it is not possible to transfer card data between processors - you'll have to get it from all your existing guests all over again once you make the change.  Currently, Stripe is the most common tokenized processor, so check your Stripe account settings in OwnerRez to determine if this applies to you.