Payment Types Supported by Paytia

Payment Types Supported by Paytia

PPayment Types Supported by Paytia

Paytia integrates with acquiring banks, payment gateways and payment service providers to enable businesses to take secure card payments over the telephone.

A range of payment types can be supported through Paytia, depending on the capabilities made available by your chosen payment gateway or payment service provider.

The exact terminology may also vary between providers, but the main payment types supported through Paytia are outlined below.

1. Immediate Charge

An Immediate Charge processes a payment in real time between the merchant and the customer.

The card is charged immediately and the payment result is returned during the transaction.

Key points

  • Payment is processed immediately
  • Suitable for one-off purchases
  • Provides an immediate payment result
  • The card is not stored for future use as part of the transaction

Typical use cases

Immediate Charge is suitable for businesses that need to collect payment while speaking with the customer, for example:

  • Retail purchases
  • Service payments
  • Invoice payments
  • Booking payments
  • Deposits that are being taken immediately

Example

A customer calls a business to pay an outstanding invoice. The payment is securely captured through Paytia and processed immediately by the connected payment provider.

2. Reserve / Pre-Authorisation

A Reserve, also known as a Pre-Authorisation, places a temporary hold against the customer's available card balance without immediately completing the final charge.

The transaction can then be captured later, subject to the rules and time limits of the payment provider.

Key points

  • Places a temporary hold against the customer's card
  • Funds are not normally settled to the merchant until the transaction is captured
  • Useful where the final payment will be completed later
  • The length of time a pre-authorisation remains valid depends on the payment provider and card scheme

Reserve periods can vary, with some providers supporting periods ranging from a few days to several weeks.

Typical use cases

  • Hotel reservations
  • Deposits
  • Vehicle hire
  • Event bookings
  • Orders where payment should only be completed after dispatch
  • Transactions where the final amount may need to be confirmed later

3. Rolling Reserve

A Rolling Reserve allows a pre-authorisation to be maintained or renewed over a longer period where supported by the payment provider.

This provides additional flexibility for businesses that need to maintain a payment commitment beyond the period normally available with a standard pre-authorisation.

Key points

  • Extends the use of pre-authorisation-style transactions
  • Can support longer-term commitments
  • Availability and behaviour depend on the connected payment provider
  • May be used where a standard reserve period is not long enough

Typical use cases

  • Extended rentals
  • Longer-term bookings
  • Events
  • Ongoing deposits
  • Services where payment needs to remain available for later collection

4. Validation

A Validation checks the customer's card and establishes that it can be used for a transaction without necessarily placing a full hold or immediately deducting funds.

Where supported, the payment provider may return a transaction reference or token that can be used for a later payment.

Key points

  • Validates the card without immediately taking the full payment
  • Can help confirm that a card is suitable for a future transaction
  • May return a transaction reference for future payment activity
  • The period during which the validation can be reused depends on the payment provider

Some providers may support subsequent collection against the validated card for a period such as 30 to 90 days, but this is provider-specific.

Typical use cases

  • Pre-qualifying a card before a future transaction
  • Confirming card validity before providing a service
  • Reserving payment capability without taking payment immediately

Depending on the integration, the later payment may be completed through Paytia Agent Capture Assist or directly through the payment provider.

5. Recurring Payments

A Recurring Payment allows a business to securely capture a customer's card for repeat payments.

The card is normally tokenised by the connected payment gateway or payment provider so that future transactions can be processed without the customer having to provide the card details again each time.

Key points

  • Supports repeat payments
  • Can be used for fixed or scheduled billing
  • Card details are normally represented by a secure token
  • Payment amounts and schedules may be configured depending on the payment provider
  • Availability depends on the recurring payment capabilities of the connected gateway

Typical use cases

  • Subscriptions
  • Memberships
  • Monthly services
  • Instalment plans
  • Regular account payments
  • Repeat billing

6. Capture

A Capture transaction securely collects the customer's card details and tokenises them through the connected payment gateway without necessarily taking an immediate payment.

The resulting token can then be used for future transactions.

Key points

  • Securely captures card information
  • Card details are tokenised by the connected payment provider
  • No immediate payment is required
  • The token can be used for later transactions
  • Helps prevent payment card details from being exposed to business users

Depending on the integration, the resulting token may be:

  • Stored within Paytia
  • Stored by the payment provider
  • Returned to another authorised application
  • Used within another business payment workflow

Typical use cases

  • Adding a card for future payments
  • Updating an existing card on file
  • Replacing expired card details
  • Creating a secure card token for another application
  • Capturing card details without exposing them to employees

7. Capture and Immediate Charge

Capture and Immediate Charge combines two actions within the same customer interaction.

Paytia securely captures and tokenises the customer's card details while also processing an immediate payment.

Key points

  • Takes an immediate payment
  • Creates a token for future transactions
  • Allows the same card to be used again without recapturing the full card details
  • Helps prevent sensitive card information from being exposed to business users
  • Availability depends on the connected payment gateway

Typical use cases

  • Taking an initial subscription payment while storing the card for future billing
  • Collecting an immediate deposit and retaining a token for the balance
  • Taking the first payment in an instalment plan
  • Creating a new card-on-file record while processing a payment at the same time

Payment type availability

Not every payment gateway or acquiring bank supports every payment type.

The options available to your business depend on factors including:

  • Your chosen payment gateway
  • Your acquiring bank
  • Your merchant account configuration
  • Your industry
  • Your enabled card types
  • The currencies you process
  • Your payment provider's tokenisation capabilities
  • Your provider's rules for recurring payments and pre-authorisations

The names used by your payment provider may also differ from the terminology used within Paytia.

For example, a provider may refer to a Reserve as a Pre-Authorisation, Authorisation Only or similar.

Why use Paytia for telephone payments?

Secure card capture

Paytia is designed to securely separate sensitive payment card information from the person taking the payment.

Customers enter their card details directly into the secure payment process rather than reading them aloud to the business user.

Reduced exposure to card data

By preventing card details from entering normal business conversations, systems and processes, Paytia can help businesses reduce their exposure to sensitive cardholder data and simplify their PCI DSS compliance environment.

Flexible payment options

Depending on the connected payment provider, Paytia can support:

  • Immediate payments
  • Pre-authorisations
  • Card validation
  • Recurring payments
  • Tokenisation
  • Card-on-file updates
  • Payment capture for future use

Payment provider integration

Paytia works alongside the merchant's existing payment provider rather than replacing the acquiring or settlement relationship.

The payment continues to be processed through the connected acquiring bank, gateway or payment service provider.

Which payment type should I use?

The correct payment type depends on what you need to achieve.

  • Use Immediate Charge when you want to take payment now.
  • Use Reserve / Pre-Authorisation when you need to hold funds and complete the payment later.
  • Use Rolling Reserve where a longer-term pre-authorisation arrangement is required and supported.
  • Use Validation when you want to validate a card before a future charge.
  • Use Recurring Payments for scheduled or repeat billing.
  • Use Capture when you want to securely tokenise a card for future use without taking an immediate payment.
  • Use Capture and Immediate Charge when you need to take payment now and retain a token for future transactions.

So to wrap up

Paytia supports a range of secure payment workflows, from simple one-off telephone payments through to recurring billing, tokenisation and pre-authorisation.

The payment options available to your business are ultimately determined by the capabilities of your connected acquiring bank or payment service provider.

If you are unsure which payment type is supported by your configuration, contact Paytia Support for guidance.