Travel & Reservations Merchant Accounts & Credit Card Processing

Travel Agency Merchant Services & Credit Card Processing for Travel & Reservations Businesses!

Many Banks Have Stopped Providing Merchant Accounts to the Travel Industry But We Have Solutions Available!

Due to risks associated with the Travel & Reservations industry, many US banks consider companies involved in travel and reservations to be a high risk business and have stopped providing merchant accounts to businesses in the travel industry.

This includes travel agencies, online reservation services, hotels & motels, airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, and many other travel related businesses and industries.

In fact, even many of the International high risk merchant accounts are hesitant to underwrite Travel businesses because it is considered a "contingency" sale, meaning the fee is typically paid far in advance of the consumer receiving what he's paid for and, if the customer changes his mind or his travel plans, the sale is likely to charge back.

Even companies that sponsor events such as business conferences, trade shows and concerts will fall into this category since the merchant processor will be concerned about the possibility of the event being cancelled after tickets have been sold far in advance.

Many merchant account providers do not understand the issues surrounding the Travel & Reservations industry and will provide a merchant account that will eventually be terminated, which is not only highly disruptive to any business, but it also makes it more difficult to qualify for a merchant account in the future, since the termination would have to be disclosed on future merchant applications.

CyoGate does offer credit card processing solutions specifically for merchants in the online and mail order Travel & Reservations industry and we do have both domestic US and international solutions available. There are slightly higher credit card processing fees and a reserve fund is commonly, although not always, required for Travel industry merchant accounts due to the high potential of chargebacks associated with the industry. However, you can rest assured that you will not have your merchant account terminated simply for being in the Travel or reservations business.

For more information on our Travel & Reservations industry merchant accounts, please contact us today, or apply for a merchant account using the button below.

The Specific Chargeback Risks in Travel Processing

Travel is a textbook "contingency sale" — paid in advance for a future service. This creates distinct chargeback vectors:

• Cancellation disputes — customers who dispute rather than go through the refund process, or believe they're entitled to a refund under terms they didn't read
• Service not as described — hotel room didn't match the listing, flight connections missed, or tour didn't deliver what was advertised
• Event cancellation — the merchant cancels after taking payment; card network rules often require full refunds in these cases
• Long-dated chargebacks — Mastercard's dispute window extends to 540 days from the travel date for services not received, meaning today's booking could generate a chargeback 18+ months from now

Qualifying for Domestic Travel Processing

Domestic processing is available for agencies that can demonstrate: customer-acknowledged cancellation and refund policies, supplier financial security (bonds, insurance, or IATA/CLIA membership), manageable chargeback history, and established supplier relationships. New travel businesses typically start with offshore accounts and transition to domestic once a clean track record is established.

Best Practices for Travel Chargeback Prevention

• Documented customer acceptance of cancellation terms — a pre-purchase checkbox or signed agreement explicitly acknowledging non-refundable terms is your strongest dispute defense
• Supplier financial protection — IATA accreditation or supplier bonds protect you in mandatory-refund scenarios
• Proactive customer communication — itinerary confirmations, pre-travel reminders, and post-travel follow-ups reduce "I don't recognize this charge" disputes
• Clear billing descriptor — identify the specific booking or agency, not just a parent company name
• Chargeback prevention monitoring — intercepts disputes at the bank before they formalize

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Retail & Internet Merchant Accounts

An Internet Merchant Account is sometimes referred to as a "MOTO" (Mail Order & Telephone Order) Account because they all require the ability to process a credit card payment when there is no physical credit card present to be swiped. A standard retail "swipe" merchant account does not allow processing of these "card-not-present" transactions.

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High Risk Merchant Accounts

If the domestic banks are denying your merchant application because they believe your industry is considered high risk, CyoGate can help! We have an offshore network of merchant processing partners that enable us to provide low cost, high risk merchant solutions to a much wider range of businesses and industries.

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Internet Payment Gateway

The CyoGate Internet Payment Gateway offers one of the quickest and most cost effective ways to accept and process credit card and electronic check payments online. Our payment gateway works with most existing merchant accounts and supports hundreds of popular web shopping carts and eCommerce platforms.

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