invalid merchant

Hi Norma, 

Agreed the BdC info is not clear cut, and needs a redo, to update it.

So for any CC/VCC, you need to have a merchant account/service agreement with a payment gateway provider and a ePOS/ smart phone app or online portal where you can input the card info.

So the first question is who or what 3rd party did you sign up with for this service, if any?

The VCC are normally issued by the BdC system and are not the actual CC owned by the Guest.

The info is hidden until the day after the offical check-in arrival date, by 12 noon.

I did some digging on here and found this : 

What to know about virtual credit cards (VCCs)

It covers alot of the common questions and scnearios.

VCCs are temporary, digital Mastercards that we use to pay you for bookings that your guests pay for on our platform. They function like regular credit cards and give you guaranteed payouts from us. They also save you time, since you don’t need to pre-authorise or validate them.

What’s in this article

1. How virtual credit cards (VCCs) work
2. How to charge a VCC
3. What can I do if I’m having trouble charging a VCC?
4. How do VCCs work with cancellations, no-shows and modifications?
5. More information about payments solutions

How virtual credit cards (VCCs) work

Here are a few things to keep in mind about how we’ll send you VCCs, how to charge them and how long they remain valid:

• For every relevant booking you receive, we’ll send you a new VCC
• As long as each VCC remains active, you can charge it as many times as you like until the balance reaches zero
• Each VCC has a unique card number, expiry date and card verification code (CVC), and we never reuse these details
• Each VCC also has an activation date – we generally set this to one day after the check-in date, except for eligible properties where we activate the VCC when the reservation becomes non-refundable

Once we activate the VCC, you can view the details in the extranet as many times as you like for 18 months (547 days) from the check-out date.

You have up to 365 days after the check-out date to charge the VCC. If you don’t charge it by then, the funds will belong to us. We’ll also email you a weekly summary showing any amounts you have remaining on VCCs.

How to charge a VCC

To charge a VCC, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the extranet and click on Reservations
2. Click on the guest’s name or reservation number
3. Click on View credit card details
4. Enter the VCC details using your POS system
5. Charge any amount up to the available amount displayed in the extranet

If you use a property management system or channel manager, take a look at this article to find out how to charge a VCC.

What can I do if I’m having trouble charging a VCC?

Here are the most common issues with charging VCCs, and what you can do to resolve them:

• If the card isn't active yet, check the activation date again in the extranet.
• If the card has insufficient funds, check that the amount you’re charging isn’t higher than the available balance and then try again.
• If the CVC code entered is incorrect, double-check you’re using the correct number.
• If the expiry date entered is incorrect, make sure you’re using the correct expiry date.
• If your POS machine merchant code is invalid, contact your payment service provider for help. You can only charge our VCCs if you’re a merchant registered as an accommodation provider, but you can change your code if necessary.
• If there’s a security lock, you’ve made too many attempts to charge the same card and you should try again in 24 hours.

For a more detailed explanation about how to charge VCCs, watch this tutorial video.

How do VCCs work with cancellations, no-shows and modifications?

If there’s a cancellation, no-show or modification and you’re owed money, we’ll send you an email with updated VCC details that you can charge.

If you need to refund a guest for a booking that we’ve paid you for using a VCC, you’ll need to refund the same VCC that we provided you with. You can do this even if the VCC has expired – just enter the current month as the expiry date instead. We’ll return the money to your guest.

To find out more about refunding VCCs, take a look at this article.

More information about payments solutions

• Find out how Online Payments work
• Learn more about refunding virtual credit cards
• Read our Payments FAQ
• Download our guide to Online Payments (available in English)
• Download our guide to charging VCCs (available in English)

Reminder you cannot post actions requests or any action request on here.

Message or Call BdC PartnerSupport ***

1. In the extranet, go to the ‘Inbox’ tab.
2. Select ‘Booking.com messages’.
3. Right Pane - Click on ‘See Contact Options’. 
4. Choose Account
5. Now choose Other
6. Then at bottom , See all contact options, and click Message or Call
7. As there is no one number for all partners, the number for your nearest BdC Partner Support is then revealed.

*** public main lines via Where you can reach us