This article covers the most frequently asked questions about using the Hompay payment gateway with Homhero.
What are the benefits of using Hompay?
Using Hompay offers several key benefits:
- Increase booking conversion with Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay & Google Pay
- Enable Afterpay to increase booking affordability - transaction limit of AUD $4,000
- Reduce chargebacks & no-show losses with dedicated team to handle disputes
- Transparent reconciliation & reporting fully aligned to your Homhero bookings
- Flexible settlement options – daily or bulk payouts
- No merchant bond or term deposit required
- Zero cost smart fraud tools, including 3DS2
What is a merchant?
A merchant is a business or individual that sells goods or services and accepts payments from customers, usually via credit cards, debit cards, or other payment methods. In the context of Hompay and Homhero, a merchant is the property manager who receives payments from guests.
What is a merchant statement?
Merchant statements are monthly reports provided by your payment gateway or acquiring bank. They outline all transaction activity for the period, including payments processed, fees charged, refunds, chargebacks, and the net amounts settled to your account. If you’re unsure where to access them, they are typically available within your payment gateway portal or directly from your bank.
Are refunds available with Hompay?
Yes, refunds are available with Hompay. The main benefit is that refunds will be processed directly in Homhero.
Stage 1 – Currently Live
Refunds can be issued to the guest’s card through Homhero. However, trust accounting will still need to be managed manually as it will not generate any corresponding transactions in RMS.
Stage 2 – In Development
The refund process will be fully automated, meaning refunds created in Homhero will also handle the associated accounting steps, removing the need to log in to RMS to process them separately.
Will Hompay replace RMS?
No, Hompay will only replace your existing payment gateway. All other RMS functionality will remain the same.
How long does a Pre-Authorisation hold remain active with Hompay?
A pre-authorisation will remain active for up to 30 days from the date it is authorised. If it is not captured or manually released within that period, it will automatically expire, and the funds will be released by the guest's bank. In most cases, banks release the hold within 7–10 business days, although this timeframe may vary depending on the financial institution.
Is it possible to release a pre-auth automatically?
Yes, automatically releasing pre-authorisations is supported for both Hompay and Merchant Warrior gateways. You can configure the number of days after departure when the pre-authorisation should be automatically released. This applies to uncaptured pre-authorisations only.
What happens when a Pre-Authorization is released (cancelled) in Homhero?
When a Pre-Auth is cancelled inside Homhero. This signals to the bank that the client no longer needs the Pre-Auth. The banks then begin releasing the funds back to the guest. This time frame varies from bank to bank.
Typical Duration:
- Visa / Mastercard: 5–10 business days (sometimes sooner, depending on the issuing bank).
- Amex: 7–10 business days on average.
Does Hompay support international credit card fees?
Yes. International fees are automatically calculated by Hompay and applied during tokenisation.
Does Homhero support setting different surcharges for Domestic and International credit cards?
No, this is not currently supported. However, you can enable AMEX and set your credit card surcharge at the international rate. This is particularly useful for clients using the Virtual Credit Card (VCC) payment method on Booking.com. Homhero will always apply the higher surcharge amount to ensure international VCC processing fees are covered for Booking.com reservations only.
How do AMEX transaction fees work?
AMEX fees are settled directly with the merchant and AMEX. Hompay does not charge any additional fees for AMEX transactions. During onboarding, we request the merchant’s AMEX MID in the registration form so the account can be set up. Please note that configuring AMEX can take up to 10 business days, as the details need to be sent to our acquiring bank.
Is Hompay available for New Zealand clients?
Yes. Hompay supports merchants based in New Zealand and offers multi-currency payment options, including AUD and NZD.
Does Hompay support net or gross payments?
Hompay supports gross settlements only.
Does Hompay include Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Afterpay?
Yes, all three payment methods are supported. Payments made with Google Pay and Apple Pay are received immediately at the time of booking. Afterpay is installment-based, and surcharges cannot be applied.
Are Google Pay and Apple Pay payments visible on the booking? Do we need to set up a new payment type for each of these?
You can only view Google Pay and Apple Pay payments in the Hompay Transactions Report. On the reservation screen, they will appear as VISA or MasterCard, so no additional payment types need to be set up.
Why are Google Pay and Apple Pay charged at the international credit card rate?
Google Pay and Apple Pay do not provide enough information to reliably determine the underlying card type (e.g. domestic debit, domestic credit or international). As a result, these transactions are processed at the international credit card surcharge rate.
Can I disable Apple Pay and Google Pay?
Yes. If you do not wish to offer Apple Pay or Google Pay as payment options, please contact Homhero Support and we can disable them for your account. If you decide to offer these payment methods again in the future, we can also re-enable them at any time.
I’ve submitted the Hompay registration form, but I’m not sure if I completed it correctly. What should I do?
The Hompay onboarding team will review your submission and contact you directly if any additional information is needed. You can also re-enable this at a later stage if you decide to offer these payment methods again in the future
What is Customer Verification (KYC) and why is it required?
Customer Verification, or Know Your Customer (KYC), is the process of confirming a business and its owners’ identities. It’s required to prevent fraud, money laundering, and other illegal activities, and to ensure compliance with legal regulations. For more info click here.
The Hompay registration is complete. How do I set up the payment gateway and start processing payments?
Once your business is verified, you’ll be notified and the Hompay onboarding team will assist in configuring the payment gateway within Homhero. After setup and testing is complete, you can begin processing transactions in Homhero immediately.
Do I need to log in to a separate payment gateway portal to view Hompay information?
No, all payment information is available directly in Homhero. Once Hompay is activated under Payment Service in the Homhero Marketplace, you’ll have access to Hompay Reports. These reports let you review transactions, disbursements, and chargebacks, with the ability to search by transaction ID, status, and date range. For more info click here.
Does Hompay integrate directly with Xero?
No. Hompay does not integrate directly with Xero. Payments are first processed through the payment gateway (Hompay), then the financial data flows from Homhero to RMS and is ultimately recorded in Xero for accounting purposes. This only applies to accounts using Xero in addition to RMS.
What is grossed-up surcharging?
Hompay uses a grossed-up surcharging model that allows merchants to recover payment processing costs without reducing the amount they receive from a booking. When a guest makes a payment, a small surcharge is automatically added to the transaction. This surcharge is grossed up, meaning it is slightly adjusted so that once the payment processing fees are deducted, the merchant still receives the full intended amount of the original transaction. Grossed-up surcharging is applied by default in Hompay.
Why are my merchant fees slightly higher than my quoted rate?
Hompay uses a grossed-up surcharging model by default. This means the surcharge applied to a guest's payment is adjusted slightly, so that after the payment processing fee is deducted, you still receive the full intended booking amount.
For example, if your merchant fee is 1.20%, the surcharge charged to the guest may be approximately 1.21%. This small increase covers the processing fee applied to the surcharge itself, ensuring the original transaction amount isn't reduced. As a result, you may notice merchant fees that are marginally higher than your quoted processing rate. This is expected behaviour and is part of Hompay's grossed-up surcharging model.
How do I enable 3DS2?
3DS2 is enabled by default in Hompay to help ensure secure transactions and reduce the risk of fraudulent payments. No additional setup is required. Please read our 3D Secure FAQs for more info.
Can fees be settled via invoice?
No, fees cannot be settled via invoice. Hompay supports Gross Settlement only, with fees collected via direct debit.
What are my options when migrating from a legacy payment gateway to Hompay?
There are two ways future payments can be handled after Hompay is activated:
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Option 1: Process all future payments through Hompay
All payments from your Hompay activation date onwards will be processed via Hompay, including existing bookings with outstanding balances. The base tariff on existing unpaid bookings may need to be adjusted to account for any surcharge differences while keeping the guest's total booking price the same. This can be completed using a migration script that is available upon request.
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Option 2: Process new bookings through Hompay and existing bookings through your current gateway
Only bookings created after your Hompay activation date will be processed through Hompay. Bookings created before activation will continue to be processed through your original payment gateway, so your legacy gateway credentials must remain active in Homhero until all existing bookings have been completed or until you decide to turn this off. This allows existing reservations to continue using their original payment method while all new bookings are processed through Hompay.
How long do I need to keep my existing payment gateway active after onboarding to Hompay?
If you choose to keep your existing payment gateway active alongside Hompay, you'll need to continue running both gateways until the last future reservation created before your Hompay go-live date has been fully paid.
This ensures that:
- Reservations created before your Hompay go-live continue to use the original payment gateway and surcharge rules for all future transactions.
- Reservations created after your Hompay go-live are processed through Hompay. Guests are charged using Hompay and the new surcharge rules for the entire life of the reservation.
What happens to payment links already sent to guests after we move to Hompay?
There is no change for your guests. Existing payment links will continue to work as normal, directing guests to the Guest Portal where payments are processed using the payment gateway assigned to that reservation. Guests can continue using the same payment link without needing a new one.
Will there be any downtime when switching to Hompay?
No. The transition to Hompay is completed with no downtime, so you can continue accepting guest payments as normal. While there may be some minor changes to your payment processes, we'll guide you through these during onboarding to ensure a smooth transition.
Will Homhero users notice any changes after moving to Hompay?
The day-to-day payment process will look and feel much the same, so there will be very little change for Homhero users. However, they'll have access to a range of new features within Homhero, including the ability to capture or release pre-authorisations, process refunds (subject to user permissions). Hompay reporting is also built directly into Homhero, allowing users to view transactions, disbursements, and chargebacks without needing to log in to a separate portal.
When will I receive funds for guest payments processed through Hompay?
Funds are disbursed based on the payout schedule you've selected during onboarding. In most cases, payments processed today will be included in the next available payout, with funds typically reaching your nominated bank account the following business day. You'll have the flexibility to choose the payout schedule that best suits your business.
What happens to Virtual Credit Cards (VCCs) after moving to Hompay?
If you choose to keep your existing payment gateway active alongside Hompay during the transition, VCCs will be processed based on when the reservation was created. Reservations created after your Hompay go-live date will be processed via Hompay, while reservations created before your go-live date will continue to be processed through your existing payment gateway. This ensures each reservation continues to use the same payment gateway throughout the reservation journey.
I have a question about Hompay. Is there someone I can contact?
Yes! You can reach out to Homhero Support for any questions regarding Hompay.