Payment processing for marinas: slips, fuel dock and storage

Compare the full workflow, not one price. Check how the processor handles slip schedules, fuel dock cards, storage invoices and deposits, whether your marina software restricts gateways, how refunds and disputes work, what equipment fees apply and what support covers. Put written quotes next to your own statements, and ask for the same breakdown from every provider.

It depends on your card mix and how cards are taken, so no single figure applies. RapidCents prices every account on interchange-plus: interchange passes through at cost, plus your RapidCents markup in your Fee Schedule and fees for equipment or services if applicable. It is month to month with no fixed term. Upload a statement to Fee Check to see interchange separated from markup.

RapidCents integrates with many major platforms through APPIE and RapidBridge, so most marinas keep the software they run today. The exact option depends on your DockMaster edition and version. Tell your RapidCents representative which one you use, and they will show you how payments, receipts and settlement connect to it, or how a terminal or link works beside it.

Set up a Customer Profile, store the boater's card with written authorization, and schedule charges that match the slip agreement. Recurring Payments sends notices before each charge and retries declines. The office needs the slip number as a reference, a cancellation process and a way to send a payment link when a card fails. A schedule collects an agreed amount; it is not financing.

A marina can offer card payments at terminals, by payment link and on invoices, with Visa, Mastercard and American Express as the common base. Debit options, bank payments and settlement currency follow the country of your merchant account. RapidCents serves merchants in Canada and the United States, and your representative sets up the methods that fit your marina.

You need a mobile Payment Terminal or a phone with Tap to Pay, a clear hold-and-adjust process and refund rules. Set up the terminal with the dock office, choose the authorization hold amount and train dockhands to charge the final amount. Your RapidCents representative will show you how holds release for your card types. Test before the season opens.

Send a branded invoice with a payment link for each storage or haul-out job, and attach the work order or slip number. Boaters pay by card from the link, and you track status from draft to paid. Decide who may adjust an invoice or refund a payment, and what staff do when a payment fails: resend the link rather than re-key a card without consent.

Yes for the payments themselves. RapidCents takes transient deposits by payment link and fuel or store sales on terminals, all visible in the Merchant Dashboard. APPIE and RapidBridge connect many major platforms, and your RapidCents representative will show you how your marina software fits. Where a system keeps its own records, match payments to reservations by reference and import the settlement report.

Match in two steps. First tie each transaction to the slip, reservation or work order by reference, then tie settlement reports to bank deposits, separating sales, refunds, disputes and fees. RapidCents connects settled transactions, fees and refunds to QuickBooks Online and Xero, and SAP and NetSuite import settlement files. Your representative will set up the one you use.

Stored cards move through tokens that both providers must agree to transfer, so plan for some boaters to authorize their card again. List every schedule and stored card, test a sale and a refund, run both setups in parallel and reconcile before closing the old account. Your RapidCents representative will plan the sequence with you so slip fee schedules keep running.

MCC 4468 is commonly associated with marinas, marine service and supplies. RapidCents sets the correct merchant category with you during onboarding, based on what your business actually sells. If your marina also runs a fuel dock, a ship's store or a restaurant, describe each activity accurately when you apply so the account is set up correctly.