High-risk accounts
Travel merchant accounts
Stratamize places travel merchant accounts for agencies and tour operators, and prepares your deposit, cancellation and refund terms for underwriting.
About two minutes. Our team follows up.
What we set up
- Merchant accounts for agencies, tour operators and travel services
- Booking lead times and supplier roles explained for underwriting
- Deposits, balances and invoices set up after approval
Travel & advance bookings
Who we work with
Travel businesses take payment long before they deliver, which is why underwriting looks closely at them. As a registered ISO, we place merchant accounts for travel agencies, tour operators and travel services, and set up deposits, balances and refunds after approval.
We work with travel agencies, tour and activity operators, group travel organizers and other businesses that sell travel before it happens. The longer the gap between payment and the trip, the more closely underwriting looks, because the processor is exposed to refunds and chargebacks until the travel is delivered.
Underwriting
What underwriting asks for
- What you sell: packaged itineraries, individual services, or reservations fulfilled by another company.
- Your typical and longest booking lead times, and your busy seasons.
- Average and largest booking values, and your expected monthly volume.
- Who takes the customer's payment and who is the merchant of record for each part of a booking.
- Supplier agreements, cancellation and refund terms, and the confirmations customers receive.
- Recent processing statements, if you take cards today, and any notice from a provider that closed your account.
For airfare, the U.S. Department of Transportation's refund rules explain that a ticket agent's refund obligations can depend on whether it is the merchant of record. Underwriting asks the same question, so the roles in each sale should be clear before you apply.
Setup
How setup works
After approval we set up the gateway, NMI or Authorize.net, with a hosted payment form, so card numbers go straight to the processor and never through your website or our team. On the setup call you get your login and keys, and we run a test transaction with you.
Deposits and later balance payments can be taken through invoices and payment links from the gateway, each tied to the booking it belongs to, so your team can find the original payment when a traveler changes or cancels.
Reserves
Reserves and chargebacks
Underwriting may set a reserve: a share of each settlement held back as a cushion against chargebacks and released on a schedule your agreement states. Whether one applies, and its terms, depend on the review. What keeps an account in good standing afterward is ordinary practice done consistently: a business name customers recognize on their statement, a refund policy they can find, and a support line that answers before a customer calls their bank.
Travel accounts are often reviewed with a reserve in mind because of the time between payment and travel. Showing your supplier terms and refund handling up front is the best way to keep that conversation short.
Selling online? The gateway is set up with the account: see the high-risk payment gateway. From our blog: Travel agency payments: who owns an airfare refund?.
Can customers pay a deposit and the balance later?
Yes. We set up deposits and balance payments through the gateway. Tell us your schedule and how you collect today, and we set it up the same way.
What if my customers book far ahead?
Bring your typical and longest lead times and how you confirm suppliers. Underwriting weighs the gap between payment and travel; showing it clearly is better than leaving it to be discovered.
Can I keep my current booking platform?
Usually. Most booking platforms connect to NMI or Authorize.net. Tell us which one you use and we confirm before you apply.
High-risk accounts
Get your application ready for underwriting.
We tell you what underwriting will ask for and prepare the file with you before it goes in.
Approvals usually come back within hours, three days at most.
Book a call