Card holds and the 7-day rule new
When someone pays online, their card isn't charged straight away. The amount is only put on hold at first. That's fair to your players, and you never have to send money back after an early cancellation.
Rolling out step by step
Card holds are new and not active everywhere yet. Until they are, online payments are charged as soon as someone joins. The cancellation deadline and refunds still work exactly as described here.
How it works
- Someone joins and pays online. The price is now on hold on their card.
- At the cancellation deadline, matchMii charges the card. The money is on its way to you, and Stripe pays it out to your bank account as usual.
- The game starts. Everyone who's still in has paid.
Who drops out when, and what happens to the money?
| What happens | Before the deadline | After the deadline |
|---|---|---|
| A player drops out | Hold released, nothing charged | Stays charged, the money is yours |
| You remove someone | Hold released | They get everything back |
| You cancel the game | All holds released | Everyone gets everything back |
The 7-day rule
Banks only keep a card hold for about 7 days. That's why we count back from the cancellation deadline, not from the start of the game.
- The deadline is 7 days away or less: people pay when they join and the amount goes on hold.
- The deadline is further away: people get their spot without paying at first. About a week before the deadline they get a push notification and an email with a payment link. Anyone who doesn't pay in time loses the spot, and the waitlist moves up.
An example
Your padel match is on Saturday, 20 December, at 6 pm. You set the cancellation deadline to 48 hours, so it's Thursday, 18 December, at 6 pm.
- Lena joins on 15 December. The deadline is only three days away, so her card goes on hold right away and is charged on 18 December.
- Max joins on 1 December. The deadline is still 17 days away. He gets his spot right away but doesn't pay yet. Around 11 December he gets the payment link, pays, and is charged on 18 December.
What's in it for you
- No sending money back to people who cancelled early.
- No chasing anyone: from the deadline on, every spot is paid for.
- People who don't pay free up their spot automatically.
- You're notified as soon as someone pays.
How to switch on online payments in the first place is in Setting up payments.