Payments2 min read
How we keep guest payments and data safe
Guests are trusting a QR code with their card details, which is exactly why security sits at the foundation of how SafariTip is built.
Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer
Asking someone to scan a QR code and hand over their card details is a big ask when you think about it, and guests are right to be a little cautious, since the internet hasn't exactly earned blind trust when it comes to payments. We built SafariTip on the assumption that trust has to be earned at every step, for guests, for properties, and for the staff whose money flows through the system.
Card details never touch the lodge
Payments are processed by a licensed and regulated payment service provider, in a secure checkout that's PCI compliant with bank-grade encryption. Guests enter their details directly into that checkout (or pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay), which means their card information never passes through the property's systems at all, and there's no card machine at reception to go wrong.
Personal data handled with care
We ask guests for as little as possible, which in practice means an email address for their receipt and, if they choose, a name and a message for the team. Data is handled in line with POPIA and GDPR, and a guest's email is used for the tip they're making rather than for marketing.
Money that reaches the right account
On the property side, settlements go to a business bank account that's verified with a simple document upload, with a full breakdown of every settlement available in the dashboard. It's an unglamorous piece of plumbing, but it's the reason owners can be confident tips are landing where they should.
Transparency is part of security
Security isn't only about encryption, it's also about being able to see what happened. Guests see a full breakdown before they pay and a receipt afterwards, owners see every tip and settlement, and staff on Enterprise accounts can see their own tips in the Staff app, so there are very few places for anything to quietly go missing.
We'll keep investing in this side of SafariTip long after it stops being interesting to talk about, because a tipping platform people don't trust is just a very elaborate way of losing tips.
More insights
Roadmap2 min read
What's next: skills and training in the Staff app
Great service earns great tips, so the next step for SafariTip is helping teams build the skills behind it, with training that lives right in the Staff app.
Fabio Longano
Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer
Product2 min read
Fair shares: the thinking behind team tips and staff scheduling
Splitting a tip sounds simple until a guest wants to thank 'the whole kitchen' and half of it was on leave that week, which is why fairness had to be designed into SafariTip rather than bolted on.
Fabio Longano
Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer
Product2 min read
Your tipping page should look like your lodge
Guests are far more likely to trust a tipping page that looks like the place they've been staying, which is why branding was never an afterthought for us.
Fabio Longano
Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer
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