Process payments securely by ensuring every reservation includes a valid payment method. Sometimes, a reservation may appear without a credit card on file, or you might notice a CASH payment instead of a credit card payment.
Why is this happening?
Guesty attempts to validate and tokenize all credit cards received from booking channels or entered manually. This validation works with Merchant Warrior, Hyp, GuestyPay, and Stripe using their respective processes.
If a card cannot be validated or tokenized—perhaps due to incorrect details, insufficient funds, or fraud prevention—Guesty does not add the card to the reservation. Sometimes, the booking channel (such as VRBO) either does not send a card or sends an invalid one that fails tokenization. In these cases, the system creates a CASH payment as a placeholder instead of a recorded card payment.
Note:
You may see error messages like "Missing payment method" or "Invalid payment method" in the reservation when a credit card is not on file.
What does a CASH payment mean?
When a credit card is not provided, or the provided card fails tokenization—such as with VRBO bookings where the card is declined—Guesty records a CASH payment. This CASH entry is not an actual payment but a placeholder indicating a missing or invalid card. When you add a valid payment method, Guesty automatically updates the CASH payments to card payments.
How can I fix it?
Collect a valid payment method from the guest as soon as possible. Choose one of the following options:
- Send an invoice to the guest:Send an invoice so the guest can submit their payment details securely.
- Add a payment method manually:Add the guest's payment details yourself after collecting valid credit card information.
Important:
If a valid payment method is not added, you may not be able to process future payments for the reservation.
How can I get notified sooner?
Turn on payment notifications to catch missing or invalid cards quickly. You can set up notifications for the following events:
- Invalid payment method received
- Invalid card received (Booking.com)
- Second invalid card (Booking.com)
- 3-D secure authentication required from guest
To enable these, follow the steps in this article.
Tip:
Add payment notifications to your account so you can resolve missing payment method issues faster.