Nafplio, Tuesday morning. The phone rings: a family from Thessaloniki wants two rooms for mid-August. You agree on a price and a deposit. "How do I pay?" Until now the answer was an IBAN in a message and a "send me the receipt". Even though the property has had an epay card agreement for years.
Now the same epay account can work for your bookings in Bookmatrix.com too. The guest pays by card on the epay page and the payment is recorded on the booking. This article explains where the guest sees it, how to connect it step by step, and what to watch for.
What epay is
epay eCommerce is the card payment service formerly known as Piraeus Bank Paycenter, now run by Euronet Merchant Services. Bookmatrix.com connects through the epay Redirection service: the guest is sent to the epay payment page, pays there and comes back. The money goes to your own merchant account, not through Bookmatrix.com. All the details are on the epay integration page.
Where the guest sees the epay button
In three places:
- On a payment link from the reservation. You add a payment link to the reservation, choose epay and set the amount. The guest opens it on their phone and pays.
- On the guest's reservation page. The payment tab shows an epay button for the deposit or the full amount.
- On balance links. Later, the guest pays what is left from there.
One point to avoid any misunderstanding: epay does not appear at the booking engine checkout. When someone books on your website through the booking engine, the card payment at the moment of booking goes through Stripe. epay works for everything after the booking: payment links, the reservation page and balances. In practice this covers phone bookings, email bookings and the balance of every stay.
How the guest pays
- The guest opens the payment link, or the payment tab of their reservation page, and chooses epay.
- They are sent to the secure epay page, in their language: Greek, English, German or Russian. They pay with Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, IRIS or Google Pay, as your account allows.
- Bookmatrix.com verifies the result and records the payment on the reservation. If the card is declined, the guest can try again from the same link.
The card number never reaches reception. Nobody types cards over the phone.
Every approval is verified before it is recorded
With every approved payment, epay sends a signature. Bookmatrix.com checks it, and only a verified approval is recorded as paid. The payment lands on the reservation with the amount, the card type, the approval code and the reference. An option turns confirmed, the guest gets a receipt by email and you get a notification.
Every payment attempt is also listed on the epay setup page, with the Support ID that Euronet asks for if a transaction needs to be traced.
Sale or pre-authorisation
You can charge the card at once, or hold the amount and complete the charge later in the epay AdminTool. Euronet must activate pre-authorisation on your account first.
How to connect it, step by step
Everything happens on the epay page of your Bookmatrix.com account. Euronet issues the accounts.
- You request a test account from Euronet. The setup page prepares the email with your business details, our return URLs and the server IP.
- You enter the five values Euronet sends you: Acquirer ID, Merchant ID, POS ID, username and password.
- You test the connection. Nothing is charged.
- You make the test payments Euronet asks for: approved, declined and a repeated attempt. Test payments use the Euronet test cards and are never recorded on a reservation.
- You request the live account. The setup page prepares this email too.
- You enter the live values and turn on epay payments for the property.
If you already use epay on your own website, watch one point: Euronet registers the return URLs per POS ID. If your POS already serves your website, ask Euronet for a second POS ID for Bookmatrix.com.
How much time it saves
A rough estimate for a property that takes deposits by bank transfer: send the IBAN, wait for the receipt, check the bank, enter the payment on the booking. If that takes about 5 minutes per booking, 40 phone bookings a month is more than three hours. With an epay link, your only step is to send the link. The check and the recording happen on their own.
Direct bookings, by phone, email or your website, pay no commission to a platform. That is why they should be easy to pay. Read more in our article on direct bookings with zero commission.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my own epay account?
Yes. You need an epay eCommerce account from Euronet Merchant Services. Payments settle into your own merchant account, not through Bookmatrix.com.
Is epay the former Piraeus Bank Paycenter?
Yes. epay eCommerce is the former Piraeus Bank Paycenter, now run by Euronet Merchant Services.
Can a guest pay with epay when booking on my website?
Not at the booking engine checkout, where the card payment goes through Stripe. With epay the guest pays from a payment link, from their reservation page and from balance links.
How do I know that a guest paid?
The payment appears on the reservation with its approval code and you get a notification. Every attempt is also listed on the epay setup page.
Can I test before taking real payments?
Yes. Euronet gives you a test account first. Test payments use test cards and are never recorded on a reservation.
Already have an epay account? Try Bookmatrix.com with a free 14-day demo, or leave your phone number at bookmatrix.com/form and we will call you on the next working day. Or call us at +30 2351 151525.