Deposit for the RMS Booking Engine

This article explains the Deposit options that determine what a guest pays when booking on the RMS Booking Engine, and what happens when a Property has no supported Payment Gateway.

Overview

The Deposit setup options will determine the upfront payment a guest must make to complete the online reservation process on the RMS Booking Engine, also known as the Internet Booking Engine (IBE).

Available payment options vary based on whether the Property is integrated with a Payment Gateway, and on whether that Payment Gateway is supported on the RMS Booking Engine. A Property with no supported Payment Gateway can still take online bookings: rather than charging the guest, the RMS Vault stores their card details for the Property to process manually. What the guest is asked for depends on the Payment Gateway and on whether a deposit is configured. See Payment Gateways and the RMS Booking Engine below.

For Properties using the RMS Vault, please note that deposits cannot be processed through this function. We recommend RMS Pay or an alternative Payment Gateway for handling deposits.

The following deposit options apply to the RMS Booking Engine only and do not apply to Online Travel Agents (OTAs) connected through the RMS Channel Manager.

The Audit Trail tab keeps a record of any changes made in the Deposits tab.

What is Tokenisation?

In RMS, Tokenisation means the guest's credit card details are securely converted into a token by the Payment Gateway:

The actual card number is not stored in RMS.
RMS stores only the token, which can be used to process future payments (for example, remaining balances, incidentals or no-show fees) without re-entering the card details.
Tokenisation requires a compatible Payment Gateway or RMS Pay, depending on the deposit option selected.
The RMS Vault is not tokenisation. The RMS Vault stores credit card details securely for the Property to retrieve and process manually, and does not include payment processing. Processing a payment against a stored card requires a Payment Gateway.

Payment Gateways and the RMS Booking Engine

The RMS Booking Engine supports a defined list of Payment Gateways. What the guest is asked to pay at checkout depends on which Payment Gateway the Property has configured in Online Options.

A Property that is not on a supported Payment Gateway is not prevented from taking online bookings. Instead of charging the guest, the RMS Booking Engine asks for their card details and stores them in the RMS Vault as a Vault Token. No payment or deposit is taken online, even where a Deposit Rule has been configured. The Property then retrieves the card details from the Vault and processes the payment manually, using an on-site terminal or its Payment Gateway when creating a receipt. The card details step appears whether or not a deposit has been configured.

Where a Property has no Payment Gateway configured at all, the card details step only appears if a deposit has been configured. A deposit set either way counts: an Online Deposit rule with values entered, or a deposit configured at Rate level. With no Payment Gateway and no deposit, the guest is not asked for card details, and nothing is stored in the Vault.

What happens at checkout

Payment Gateway configured in RMS	What the guest does at checkout	How the Property takes payment
A supported Payment Gateway	Pays the amount set by the Deposit Rule configured in Online Options.	The deposit is processed through the Payment Gateway and receipted to the reservation. A token is stored where the selected Deposit Rule includes tokenisation.
RMS Vault	Enters card details for storage only. No deposit is collected.	A Vault Token is created on the reservation. The Property retrieves the card details and processes the payment manually. See Use the RMS Vault with the RMS Booking Engine.
A Payment Gateway that is not supported	Enters card details for storage only. No deposit is collected, even where a Deposit Rule is configured.	The same as RMS Vault above: a Vault Token is created on the reservation for the Property to retrieve and process manually.
No Payment Gateway at all, with a deposit configured (Online Deposit or Rate level)	Enters card details for storage only. The deposit amount is not charged.	A Vault Token is created on the reservation for the Property to manually retrieve and process.
No Payment Gateway at all, with no deposit configured	No card details are asked for. The booking completes without a payment step.	Nothing is stored. The Property contacts the guest directly to arrange payment.

Which Payment Gateways are supported

Support for individual Payment Gateways on the RMS Booking Engine is expanding. Rather than repeating the list here, see the Payment Gateways table in The New Booking Engine, which is kept current and shows each gateway as Available Now, TBC, or Not Migrating.

A Property on a gateway marked TBC, or on no gateway at all, will have guest card details stored in the RMS Vault rather than a deposit collected online. RMS Vault itself is supported, but never collects deposits.

Deposit Options

Deposit Option	Description	Additional Information
No Deposit or Payment Required for RMS Booking Engine Reservations	Guests are not required to pay a Deposit or provide any Credit Card information during online checkout.	This option should only be used by properties that are not connected to a Payment Gateway.
Allow deposit by Bank Transfer	This function is not available on the RMS Booking Engine.	Should you have any questions, please contact the RMS Customer Care Team.
Online Deposit Rule: Online Deposit	The Deposit Amount configured in Online Options will apply to all Rate Types advertised on the RMS Booking Engine. Deposits configured at a Rate level will not be used for the RMS Booking Engine.	A Payment Gateway is required to use this option, as payment will be processed using the Property's connected Payment Gateway.
Online Deposit Rule: Rate Deposit - If $0.00 set = 100% Deposit and Tokenise by default	The Deposit Amount is determined by the Deposit configured at the Rate level for the selected Rate Type. Where a Deposit has not been configured on a Rate, RMS will charge the Guest 100% of the Accommodation as the deposit at the time of booking and credit card information will be stored as a Token on the Guest Profile.	A Payment Gateway is required to use this option, as payment will be processed using the Property's connected Payment Gateway. Properties using the RMS Vault cannot use this option.
Online Deposit Rule: Rate Deposit - If $0.00 set = NO Deposit Taken & Tokenise	The Deposit Amount is determined by the Deposit configured at the Rate level for the selected Rate Type. Where a Deposit has not been configured at a Rate level, RMS will not charge the Guest a deposit at the time of booking and credit card information will be stored as a Token on the Guest Profile.	A Payment Gateway is required to use this option, as payment will be processed using the Property's connected Payment Gateway. For Properties using the RMS Vault, Credit Card information will be captured and stored in the Vault. This Online Deposit rule is not compatible with the Razorpay Payment Gateway.

Notes

The 'No Deposit' option should only be used by Properties that do not require a Deposit or any Credit Card information to make a booking.
The 'Online Deposit' option can be used to apply the same Deposit rules to all Rate Types on the RMS Booking Engine.
The 'Rate Deposit - If $0.00 set = 100% Deposit and Tokenise by default' option can be used to set variable Deposit amounts with full payment required on any Rate Type where no Deposit has been set up.
The 'Rate Deposit - If $0.00 set = NO Deposit Taken & Tokenise' option can be used to set variable Deposit amounts with no payment required on any Rate Type where no Deposit has been set up.
Properties that are connected to a Payment Gateway can choose the Online Deposit or either Rate Deposit option to determine the payment taken at the time of reservation.
Properties that are not connected to a supported Payment Gateway can choose the Online Deposit or either Rate Deposit option to define deposit amounts, but no payment will be taken at the time of reservation. The 'Allow deposit by Bank Transfer' option is not available on the RMS Booking Engine. If you have questions about accepting Deposits via bank transfer, please contact the RMS Customer Care Team.

Please Note! RMS is highly configurable. Some Terminology, User Access & Permissions, Images, Labels, and Functions used in these articles may differ from your setup. CLICK HERE to find out more.

How to Configure Deposit Options for the RMS Booking Engine

Go to Setup > Online Bookings > Online Options in RMS.
(Optional) Select Property.
Navigate to the 'Deposits' tab.
Select a Deposit Option.
(Optional) No Deposit: Select the checkbox 'No Deposit or Payment Required'.

Important! A password is required to clear the 'No Deposit or Payment Required' checkbox once it has been selected. Contact the RMS Customer Care Team for your region to obtain the password.
Allow Deposit by Bank Transfer: This option is not available on the RMS Booking Engine. If you see this option in your system, or have questions about taking Deposits via bank transfer, contact the RMS Customer Care Team for guidance.
Online Deposit: Enter the Deposit Rules for online reservations.
Rate Deposit - If $0.00 set = 100% Deposit and Tokenise by default: The Deposit rules will be based on the Rate Setup. The Deposit options on this screen will disappear.
Rate Deposit - If $0.00 set = NO Deposit Taken & Tokenise: The Deposit rules will be based on the Rate Setup. The Deposit options on this screen will disappear.
Select Save.