Digital wallet

A payment method where the guest's card details are already held on their phone, browser or computer, so paying takes an authentication rather than a typed card number. Apple Pay, Google Pay and Click to Pay are the ones that turn up in hospitality.

For an operator the point is conversion. A card form on a phone is one of the places guests abandon a payment, and a wallet button removes the typing. That matters most on the surfaces where a guest is deciding in the moment: paying a balance from a reminder email, accepting a quote, or finishing a direct booking.

Two things to check before promising it to owners. Wallet support usually comes from the payment processor rather than the property management system, so availability can depend on which processor you are on and in which country. And each wallet reaches a different set of guests, since Apple Pay covers Apple devices and Safari while Google Pay covers most Android. Turning on one of them leaves the other half of your guest mix still typing.

Wallet payments normally carry the same card-present or card-not-present pricing as the underlying card, but fee treatment varies by processor, so it is worth confirming rather than assuming.