Bar Tabs

It is common for bars and restaurants to accept a card for payment, open a tab, and return the card to the customer before knowing the final amount of the payment. Later, once the final amount is known, the authorization may be processed on the point of sale (POS).

Bar Tabs enables merchants to charge an accumulated total amount without holding on to the payer's card. Once an initial authorization is created, turn it into a Bar Tab by simply updating the original authorization. When a Bar Tab is ready to be closed, merchants can capture the final details in an encoded payment method.

Create A Bar Tab

The concept of bar tabs is to pre-authorize for the first order amount and then to increment during the stay until the tab is closed out.

The transaction is then completed for the full pre-authorized amount plus all of the incremental charges.

If there is a problem with the order, then it is best to cancel and resubmit for the correct value. This means the card needs to be re-presented and this is an exception to the standard bar tab flow.

Example Scenario:

• Cardholder: orders the first round of drinks
• Bartender: Would you like to open a tab?
• Cardholder: Yes
• Bartender: runs the first order with the card
• Cardholder is ready for another drink
• Bartender adds drink as adjustment to the order (no card is needed)
• Cardholder is ready to check out (no card is needed)
• Bartender: completes the order and cardholder tips (no card is needed)
• Capture completes for the full amount

The Benefits of this feature:

• Cardholder retains card, which reduces instances of cards being left behind; secures card data
• Adjustments allow “open to buy” to be updated when more drinks are ordered
• Merchant activity is streamlined for payments and reduces cardholder friction

SDK Interface Changes