How a customer pays is often the last decision made in an online booking, and it is one of the most important. Online Payments in VEVS Car Rental Software is the settings page where you decide which payment methods appear at the reservation checkout, connect the providers you use, and keep live and test credentials separate so you can verify the experience before real money moves.
What the page controls
This page controls which payment methods are available during the reservation checkout. It is the switchboard that determines what a customer can choose when they reach the payment step of a booking. Three methods are covered: cash, PayPal, and Stripe.
Each method has its own card with an enable switch. When a card is switched on, its settings appear, including the title customers see and the credentials required by the provider. When it is off, the method is not offered. Because the cards are independent, you can enable several methods at once and let the customer choose between them, or keep the checkout focused on a single route.
Where to find it
In the admin area, open Settings in the left menu and choose Online Payments. The page is titled ONLINE PAYMENTS and is arranged as a set of cards, one for each payment method, followed by a section for requesting a different provider.
Because these settings affect the checkout directly, review every card before a launch or seasonal change, then save once the whole configuration is right.
Cash payments
The Cash card has a single switch, Enable Cash Payments. Turning it on lets customers choose to pay in cash. There are no credentials, modes, or additional fields on this card, which makes it the simplest option to reason about.
Cash suits customers who prefer to settle at the counter or markets that expect it. Keeping the switch off does not stop staff handling a payment in person; it means the online checkout does not present cash as an option.
PayPal
The PayPal card is switched on with Enable PayPal. When enabled, two settings appear. Payment method title is the name shown to customers, for example "PayPal". PayPal Mode lets you choose Live to process real payments or Test (Sandbox) to use PayPal's test environment.
The credentials you fill in depend on that mode. In Live mode you enter the PayPal Live Client ID and PayPal Live Secret. In Test (Sandbox) mode you enter the PayPal Test Client ID and PayPal Test Secret. The page shows the matching fields for the mode you select, so you are not asked to supply keys you do not need.
Stripe
The Stripe card follows the same pattern. Switch it on with Enable Stripe, then set the Payment method title customers will see and choose the Stripe Mode, either Live or Test.
For Live mode, enter the Stripe Live Public Key and Stripe Live Secret Key. For Test mode, enter the Stripe Test Public Key and Stripe Test Secret Key. As with PayPal, only the fields relevant to the selected mode are presented, which reduces the chance of pasting a key into the wrong place.
Live and test modes
The separation of live and test credentials is one of the most useful aspects of the page. It means you can connect a provider, run through the checkout, and confirm that a payment completes end to end without taking real money or creating confusion in your records.
It also means mode discipline matters. Mixing live and test credentials can cause checkout to fail or record misleading payments, so make sure each provider is fully set to one mode before going live. A provider that is half configured is worse than one that is switched off, because the failure appears to the customer rather than to you.
The credential fields change with the selected mode. Confirm the mode first, then enter the credentials that belong to it.
Requesting another payment processor
If you use a provider other than PayPal or Stripe, the page includes a section titled Need another payment processor integrated?. Click Request integration to ask for that provider to be added to your software. This is a request route rather than a self-service connection, so plan for it in advance if a particular processor is essential to your market.
Setting it up step by step
- Open Settings and choose Online Payments.
- Turn on the payment methods you want to offer with their Enable switches.
- For each enabled provider, choose the mode and enter the matching live or test credentials.
- Set the payment method titles customers will see.
- Click Save Settings.
Completeness matters more than order. Saving a provider that is enabled but missing credentials leaves an option at checkout that cannot work, so treat each card as finished only when its title, mode, and credentials are all in place.
What happens after saving
After saving, only the payment methods you enabled are offered to customers at checkout. A confirmation message appears when the settings are saved successfully, and payments made with the selected provider are reflected in your booking and payment records.
The Save Settings button and editing are only available to users who have permission to update these settings. Other users can still see the page, but they cannot change it. If a configuration change does not seem to apply, confirm that the account used has the necessary permission and that the save was confirmed.
Business benefits
Offering the right payment methods removes a common reason for abandoned bookings. A customer who reaches checkout and finds no method they trust may leave and book elsewhere, and that loss is invisible unless you look for it. Enabling card and wallet payments through recognised providers, alongside cash where it suits your market, gives customers a reason to complete the booking there and then.
Central control also helps your team. Because methods are managed in one place, the configuration becomes the single description of what the business accepts online, and the checkout follows it automatically.
Test mode adds a further layer of confidence. New providers can be connected and verified before launch, which is particularly valuable when you are preparing for a peak period or opening a new location and cannot afford checkout errors at the moment demand arrives.
Practical use cases
Card-first online booking
Enable Stripe with a clear title such as "Credit / Debit Card" so customers immediately recognise the option, and keep the checkout to a single, well-understood route.
Wallet and cash mix
Enable PayPal alongside cash for customers who prefer a wallet or who intend to settle at the counter, then let them choose at checkout.
Pre-launch verification
Run both providers in test mode, complete a booking end to end, and switch to live only when the payment completes successfully.
Provider migration
Use the request section when your market depends on a processor outside PayPal and Stripe, and plan the change before your current arrangement ends.
Best practices
- Set a provider to Test mode and run a test payment first, then switch to Live only after it completes successfully end to end.
- Use the Payment method title to control the exact wording customers see, for example "Credit / Debit Card" for Stripe.
- Keep each provider entirely in one mode to avoid failed checkouts and misleading payment records.
- Enable only the methods your team can actually support, and switch off any you are not ready to honour.
- Review the page before peak periods and after any change of provider details.
- Limit update permission to the people responsible for payment configuration.
Conclusion
Online Payments gives you direct control over how customers pay when they book, without needing to involve a developer for routine changes. By choosing your methods deliberately, separating live and test credentials, and verifying each provider before launch, you reduce checkout friction and keep payment records trustworthy. It is a small settings page with a large effect on conversion and on the confidence customers place in your rental business.