We’re at the final article in our series on Choosing a Tour Booking Platform for your tour or activity business. We’ve covered the questions to ask about “Data Security & Autonomy“, “Distribution Channels“ and “Booking Fees & Costs“. Lastly, let’s consider the questions to ask about payment gateway integration and how this might shape your final decision.Which payment gateways can I use with your platform? Your payment gateway is fairly important – it’s how you’ll get paid for your online bookings! You might already be using your preferred payment gateway such as Stripe or SecurePay for your tour bookings, or you might simply wish to be able to shop around for the best terms to suit your business. Either way, it’s wise to ask which payment gateways can be used with any booking platform you’re considering.Platforms such as FareHarbor and Trekksoft offer limited third party payment processors, while options like Checkfront and Rezdy both offer connection to a wide range of payment gateways. Other platforms don’t seem to make payment gateway information readily available at all. Here at Rezdy, we’re always working to add new payment gateway providers and currencies. You can see our full list here. Will I be locked or pressured into using a certain payment gateway?Several of the booking platforms offer their own tour operator payment gateway – Rezdy included. For us, it means we can offer reduced rates for operators when using RezdyPay and Stripe, but we also make it easy to connect with third party payment gateways. Some booking platforms make it almost impossible to find information on third party options, so it’s worth looking for a solution that allows integration with at least the main players like Stripe and PayPal. Aim to find a booking platform that makes integration simple so that you can use your preferred payment gateway if you so choose, and ask upfront if there’s a particular gateway that you have in mind. Will I be able to take bookings in different currencies?Flexibility is key when it comes to taking bookings, and you won’t want to miss out on prospective sales simply because your booking platform isn’t equipped to take the currency that suits your customers. Not only should your booking platform offer integration with local and global payment gateways, it should also provide a choice of currencies to offer your key customers. For example, when taking bookings through the Rezdy reseller marketplace you can nominate two currencies to offer a choice to your customers (perfect if you’re trying to crack a new market of international travellers). Or, you can choose to invoice your resellers instead, then Rezdy can populate all the tracking and data for you and payments will be possible in any currency at all.And there you have it – the vital questions on tourism payment solutions. After considering each of the factors in this article series, you’ll be so much better equipped to choose a new booking platform for your tour or activity business. We certainly hope it’s proved useful for you!If you’re interested in trying Rezdy out for yourself, you can sign up for a free trial with no obligation. And if you have any lingering questions about pricing, bookings or anything else to do with this series – or the Rezdy platform itself – simply get in touch with our friendly team.