What Are Virtual Credit Cards?
A Virtual Credit Card (VCC) is a powerful digital tool, revolutionising how online transactions are made. It's a payment method that offers the convenience of traditional credit cards without the need for a physical plastic card. VCCs have a card number, expiry date and CVV, just like a physical card. One of the primary advantages of using VCC is the ability to control the card's value and terminate it at will, providing enhanced security.
Virtual Credit Cards provide unparalleled control, security, and peace of mind to account holders, which is why OTAs are increasingly using VCCs to secure online accommodation purchases.
How Virtual Credit Cards Are Processed
When VCC details are processed, Guestline identifies whether the property has:
GuestPay
Non-GuestPay
Based on this identification, the VCC is then processed accordingly.
VCC for GuestPay Customers
Guestline identifies VCCs by certain words or phrases within reservations from all direct channels (excluding Extended Channels) and passes this information into Rezlynx. The card is then tokenised using Card Store, which reduces failed and declined transactions when capturing a VCC.
GuestPay customers have access to a feature called Virtual Card Automation for Booking.com and Expedia channels.
For channels other than Booking.com and Expedia, when the VCC is initially received, the system captures the card details, which are stored on the Reservation Guarantee tabs so that sites can manually process payment on or after the effective date.
For more information on the GuestPay VCC feature and logic visit our guide:
For Non-GuestPay Customers
VCC detection for Non-GuestPay customers is limited to direct Booking.com and Expedia connections only, and are handled as outlined below:
When Effective Date Matches Current Date
The VCC will be processed immediately as a payment and posted as a deposit onto the reservation when it is delivered into Rezlynx.
When the Effective Date Is in the Future
When the VCC is initially received, the system attempts to capture the card details and store the details on the Reservation Guarantee screen.
At this stage, the VCC is often not yet active, which may result in the Account Check failing. Depending on the type of decline, a gateway token may or may not be generated.
If a token is generated: You will see this within the Reservations Guarantee tab within the Payment Gateway. You can manually process the payment on or after the card's effective date.
If no token is generated: You will need to access the third-party Online Travel Agency portal to retrieve the card details and process the payment manually.