When plans change and you need to pay a guest back, you want to know the money is going to the right place, quickly and safely, without leaving your property vulnerable to financial headaches.
To keep your business and your guests secure, your iVeri payment gateway is built with strict safety measures. Here is a friendly guide to how refunds work, why these guardrails are in place, and how to handle them.
The Safe Route: Linked Refunds (The Standard Way)
By default, your iVeri setup is configured to allow linked refunds only.
Think of a linked refund as a secure loop. The money is only allowed to travel backward along the exact same path it arrived on. When you process a refund this way, iVeri automatically double-checks it against the original payment to ensure:
- You stay in control of the amount: You cannot accidentally refund more than the guest originally paid. (If you only need to refund a portion of their stay, that is no problem. The system handles partial refunds safely through this same link).
- The money goes to the right place: The refund is sent directly back to the exact card used to make the booking. This is a massive shield against fraud and disputes (known as chargebacks), protecting you from duplicate financial losses.
- Your books stay clean: It automatically leaves a clear, clean transaction trail for your records.
Even though a partial return changes the transaction value, it's still be processed as a linked refund, as long as it does not exceed the initial amount.
The Riskier Route: Standalone Credits (Turned Off by Default)
A standalone credit happens when you try to send money to a guest's card without linking it back to an original booking or payment.
Because there is no initial sale to verify where the money is going, banks and payment processors view standalone credits as a high risk for fraud and compliance. It is a bit like handing someone cash with no receipt or record.
Because of this risk:
- They are not activated by default on your account.
- They require specific, formal approval from your acquiring bank.
- They may be restricted depending on your property's specific category or risk profile.
Do you need standalone credits enabled?
If your business model really requires the ability to issue standalone credits, you will need to request this feature manually.
You can contact the iVeri Support Team at [email protected], and they will route your request directly to your Nedbank Relationship Manager for review.