Zeevou’s Auto Charge/Auto Refund feature automates payment collection and refunds based on booking policies, reducing manual work. It ensures deposits, balances, and refunds are processed seamlessly through integrated payment gateways.
To enable this option, navigate to the Settings gear icon and select Settings. Locate the Security Deposit Collection Methods card under the Finance tab, enable the Card toggle, and choose Stripe as your payment gateway. Then, tick Auto Charge/Auto Refund and click Save.
This setting allows you to specify the number of days after the departure date when the security deposit should be automatically released to the guest. Crucially, if you have selected the Auto Charge/Auto Refund method, the deposit will be processed as an actual payment upon authorization and automatically refunded according to your specified timeline.
When handling security deposits with Stripe, it's important to distinguish between Auto Charge/Auto Refund and Pre-Authorisation, as they serve different purposes.
Stripe has limitations regarding the duration of pre-authorised security deposits, typically allowing a maximum hold of 7 days from the point of authorisation. To address this, Zeevou offers two options:
1.Auto-capture and auto-refund: This method captures the security deposit as a payment and then automatically refunds it after the guest's departure based on your configured timeline. This allows you to hold a security deposit for bookings of any length.
2.Security deposit extend module: This module automatically re-authorises the deposit according to your security deposit timeline settings, overcoming the 7-day limitation for pre-authorisations.
However, when you tick the Auto Charge/Auto Refund box, the system treats Stripe deposits as actual payments. This means that when guests authorise the deposit, the funds are transferred to your account. Following the guests’ departure, if you do not intend to Capture any or all of the deposit, the system will automatically initiate a refund based on the timeframe you have set in the Online Check-in Process or Listings → Set Listing Defaults → Security Deposit Timeline.
Regarding the timeframe for guests receiving their refund via Stripe with the Auto Charge/Auto Refund method:
If you have configured the system to release the funds, for example, 2 days after checkout, Zeevou will instruct Stripe to process the refund at that point. While the system initiates the refund on the specified day, please note that it can take up to 14 working days for the refunded amount to appear back on the guest's card due to processing times by Stripe and the guest's bank.
Please note that £3.00 per deposit transaction will be deducted from your account if the security deposit is captured.
