To take online payments for tours and activities, connect a payment provider such as Stripe to your booking system, so guests pay by card on your booking page when they choose a time slot. The money goes to your own account, minus a card fee of about 1.5% + €0.25 on a standard European card, and reaches your bank a few days later.
This guide covers the ways you can let guests pay, what you need before you start, a five-step setup, what card payments really cost, when the money arrives, and how to handle refunds and chargebacks. Fees and timings were checked on 3 October 2026 on Stripe's own pricing and documentation pages. They change, so confirm them for your country.
Why take payment when guests book
Taking payment at the moment of booking changes a reservation into a sale. That has four practical effects:
- Fewer no-shows. Guests who have paid turn up far more reliably, and if they don't, you are still paid for the place. See how to reduce no-shows for the other settings that help.
- Less cash to handle. Fewer guests paying on the day means less change to carry, fewer card terminal queues and less to count after the last time slot.
- A clear picture of your revenue. You know what each day is worth before it starts, not after.
- Guests expect it. People who book hotels, flights and concert tickets online are used to paying in the same step.
Online payment is not the right choice for every booking. Regular guests, school groups and markets where cards are less common often work better with pay on arrival. Most businesses mix the two.
The 4 ways to let guests pay
| Option | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay online in full | The guest pays the whole price by card when booking | Popular time slots, tourists, last-minute buyers | Card fees on every booking |
| Pay on arrival | The guest books for free and pays on the day | Regulars, groups, cash-heavy markets | More no-shows and no money for empty places |
| The guest chooses | The booking page offers both, and the guest picks one | Mixed audiences, a gradual switch to online | Some guests always pick pay on arrival |
| Deposit, balance on the day | The guest pays part online and the rest on arrival | Expensive private tours and large groups | Two payments to track, and not every system supports it |
If you are moving from cash to online payment, the third option is a gentle start. Watch how many guests pay online after a month, then decide whether to require it on your busiest activities.
What you need to accept online payments
Before your first online booking, you need five things in place:
- A booking system that takes payments. It should show live availability, take the payment in the same step and mark the booking as paid without anyone typing it in.
- A payment provider account in your business's name. Stripe, PayPal and Adyen are common choices. The provider will ask for your business details, an ID for the owner and your bank account. This is a legal requirement for anyone who moves money, so expect it whichever provider you choose.
- A business bank account in the currency you sell in, so payouts don't go through a currency conversion.
- A cancellation and refund policy, shown before the guest pays. Our cancellation policy template gives you wording to start from.
- Prices that include VAT, if you are VAT registered. Guests in Europe expect the price they see to be the price they pay.
How to set up online payments in 5 steps
- Decide how guests pay for each activity. Choose pay online, pay on arrival or let guests choose. You can set it differently for a private tour and a drop-in class.
- Connect your payment account. In your booking system, start the connection and complete the provider's checks. Have your company number, the owner's ID and your bank details ready.
- Set your cancellation and refund rules. Decide how long before the start guests can cancel for a full refund, and what they get back after that. A good booking system then works out each refund for you.
- Make a test booking. Book a place yourself, pay with a real card, check the confirmation email, then cancel and check the refund. It takes ten minutes and catches most setup mistakes.
- Tell your guests. Say on your booking page and in your confirmation email how payment works, which cards you accept and what your refund rules are.
What online payments cost
Every card payment carries a fee from the payment provider. These are Stripe's standard rates for a business in the European Economic Area (EEA):
| Card | Fee per payment | On an €80 booking |
|---|---|---|
| Standard EEA card | 1.5% + €0.25 | €1.45 |
| Premium EEA card | 2.8% + €0.25 | €2.49 |
| UK card | 2.5% + €0.25 | €2.25 |
| Card from outside the EEA and UK | 3.15% + €0.25 | €2.77 |
| Currency conversion | 2% extra, when the card's currency differs | €1.60 extra |
Stripe has no setup or monthly fee on its standard pricing. For a business in the United States, the standard rate is 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards. Two other costs are worth knowing:
- Your booking software's fee. Some systems charge a percentage of each online payment on top of the card fee, others don't. Our guide to booking software cost compares the pricing models with real 2026 prices.
- Disputes. Stripe charges €20 for each chargeback you receive in Europe, whether you win or lose.
If most of your guests are tourists from outside Europe, budget for the higher international rate. On a €3,000 week of foreign card payments, the difference between 1.5% and 3.15% is about €50.
When the money reaches your bank
Online payments don't land in your bank account the same day. According to Stripe's payout documentation:
- Your first payout usually arrives 7 to 14 days after your first payment, depending on your country, industry and risk level.
- After that, Stripe pays out on a rolling basis. By default, payments in the EU and UK reach you about 3 business days after they are made, and in the US about 2 business days after.
- Your bank may take a little longer to show the money.
Plan for the first two weeks. If you open for the season on a Saturday, connect your payment account at least two weeks earlier and take a few early bookings, so your first payout isn't late when your costs start.
Refunds and cancellations
A refund returns the money to the card the guest paid with. Three things to know about refunds with Stripe:
- The original card fee isn't returned. If you refund an €80 booking in full, you lose the €1.45 fee you paid on it.
- Guests see the money back in about 5 to 10 business days, depending on their bank. Tell them this in your refund email, because it saves a lot of "where is my refund?" messages.
- A refund made very soon after the payment may show as a reversal, which removes the charge from the guest's statement instead of adding a credit.
Your refund rules should match what you show before payment. If you cancel a time slot yourself, for weather or low numbers, refund every guest in full and offer them another time.
Chargebacks: how to avoid them and what to do
A chargeback, or dispute, is when a guest asks their bank to reverse a card payment instead of asking you. Chargebacks cost money and time, so prevention is worth the effort.
Card networks typically let cardholders dispute a payment for 120 days. For tickets to a future date, Stripe notes that the window starts on the date of the activity, not the date of payment, so a booking made months ahead stays open to disputes long after it is paid.
To prevent chargebacks:
- Make sure your business name on the guest's card statement is one they recognise.
- Show your cancellation policy before payment, and repeat it in the confirmation email.
- Send a reminder before the start, so guests don't forget a booking they made months ago.
- Keep check-in records. A scanned ticket shows the guest attended.
- Answer refund requests quickly. Many chargebacks start with an unanswered email.
If a dispute arrives, respond within the deadline your provider gives, usually 7 to 21 days. Send the booking details, your policy, the emails sent and the check-in record. If you don't respond in time, you lose the dispute automatically.
Strong Customer Authentication in Europe
If your business and your guest's bank are both in the EEA, online card payments must use Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), required by the EU's PSD2 directive since 14 September 2019. In practice, the guest confirms the payment in their banking app or with a code. This step is called 3D Secure. The UK has a similar rule.
You don't need to build this yourself. A checkout from a provider such as Stripe asks for it when the bank requires it, and banks may decline payments that skip it. As a bonus, if a guest later disputes an authenticated payment as fraud, the liability typically shifts to their bank.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Asking guests to pay by bank transfer before the booking is confirmed. Places stay blocked while you wait, and many transfers never arrive.
- Sending guests to a separate payment page with no link to the booking. Someone then has to match payments to bookings by hand.
- Hiding the refund policy until after payment. It causes disputes and bad reviews.
- Forgetting abandoned checkouts. Guests who start paying and stop should get a reminder before their places are released.
- Requiring online payment everywhere at once. Start with your busiest activities and keep pay on arrival where it works.
How online payments work in TicketPa
In TicketPa, each business chooses how guests pay on its Payments page: pay on arrival, pay online when booking, or let guests choose. Online payment uses your own Stripe or PayPal account, connected in a few steps, so the money goes straight to you and you keep your full dashboard with the provider. Guests pay by card on the booking's payment page, without being sent to another site.
When your team makes a booking by phone, you can send the guest a payment link that stays open for 24 hours, with one reminder before it closes. Guests who don't finish paying online get a reminder before their places are released. When a guest cancels, TicketPa works out the refund from your policy and returns it to their card, and cancelling a time slot refunds every guest at once.
TicketPa charges 2%, 1% or 0.5% of online payments depending on your plan, and nothing on bookings paid on arrival. See every feature or the plans side by side.
