Getting verified
Before you can take money online, your business has to be verified. Every payment provider in Europe must do this — it is the "know your customer" check, and it is not optional for anyone.
ReservationBay runs it for you. You upload documents in the portal, and the provider works through them.
Where it happens
Settings → Subscription drives it, and Payments shows the progress. Until it is finished, a banner appears on every portal page.
What is set up
Two things, automatically:
- One merchant for your company — the legal entity the check runs on.
- One sales location per location you have in ReservationBay. That means the provider's own reporting and settlement already split by shop, which is exactly what you want if you have more than one.
Each gets a code, shown on your screens: a merchant code like M-1234-5678 and a service code like SL-1234-5678.
The documents
The checklist is generated from what the provider actually asks for — it differs by legal form (sole trader, BV, foundation) and by which payment methods you want. You are never asked for a document that is not needed for your case.
Typically: an extract from the Chamber of Commerce, identity documents for the people who own or direct the business, and a bank statement showing the account name.
Each document in the checklist shows its status and, if it was refused, the reason. A rejected document is clearly distinguished from one that was never uploaded, so you can see the difference between "you still need to do this" and "we did not accept this — here is why".
Documents are stored securely and are never kept in ReservationBay's own database.
Three statuses, not one
The screens show three, because they mean different things:
| Status | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Merchant status | Whether your merchant account exists and is in good standing. |
| Boarding status | How far the verification has got. |
| Payout status | Whether money can actually be paid out to your bank. |
You can be able to process transactions while still being verified — but not yet able to be paid out. ReservationBay deliberately waits for both: money we cannot pay out to you is money we would have to explain, so online payments switch on when the whole thing is accepted.
Submitting for review
When everything on the checklist is uploaded you submit for review. If anything is still outstanding, submission is refused — with the outstanding item named, so you know what to do.
While you wait
Nothing else is blocked. You can take bookings, run the counter, take cash and card payments, issue invoices and use every other feature. Only online payments wait.
When it is done
- The banner disappears.
- The Payments screen switches to its normal form: methods, transactions, wallet, payout interval.
- Your customers can pay online in the widget.
If something goes wrong halfway
The process is resumable at every step. If an upload fails or the connection drops, come back and continue — nothing has to be started over.
Your direct debit
Separately from the document check, you register a bank account for your ReservationBay invoices. See Direct debit.