Yapstone

Yapstone Overview For Merchants

If you operate a vacation rental or a booking platform and need to accept and settle payments at scale, Yapstone is a specialized payments provider focused on the travel and lodging segment. Yapstone powers the Vacation Rent Payment brand and provides card acceptance, ACH and e-check processing, multi-party payouts, chargeback handling, and built-in compliance controls.

Yapstone At A Glance

Yapstone provides a full-stack payments platform designed for vacation rentals and related use cases. You can accept major cards and bank payments, automate onboarding and verification, and route payouts to owners, vendors, or other parties with controls such as holding funds until a booking is complete. For many scenarios Yapstone can operate as the Merchant of Record, which means it bears the financial liability for card processing and handles settlement to you based on the agreed schedule. There is an online merchant portal for reconciliation, reporting, and support.

Who Yapstone Is For

Yapstone’s model targets businesses involved in short-term stays and bookings, including:

• Individual vacation rental operators and property managers

• Property management companies that run multiple listings or portfolios

• Hotels and lodging providers that need payment acceptance and settlement

• Marketplaces and booking platforms that onboard multiple sellers and require split or multi-party payouts

If your business is outside these scenarios, the product may still work, but the platform and risk controls are optimized for travel and lodging workflows.

Core Payment Capabilities

Payment Acceptance

• Cards: Accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.

• ACH and e-checks: Offer bank-based payments for guests who prefer non-card options.

• Pay by Link: Create links for one-time, recurring, or invoice payments without building a full checkout.

• Gateway: Use Yapstone’s gateway to securely route authorizations and settlements between your site or PMS and acquiring banks.

• Digital wallets and bank transfer options: Vacation Rent Payment highlights digital wallets and bank transfers as supported or planned. Exact wallet options can vary by geography and implementation.

Payouts And Funds Flow

• Split and multi-party payouts: Disburse funds to owners, cleaners, suppliers, or other beneficiaries based on booking and business rules.

• Advanced payments: Offer early or upfront payments to vendors to improve cash flow where appropriate.

• Bank transfers in the US and EU: Settle via direct bank transfer across these regions.

• Funds hold until completion: Configure holds so funds are released only after a stay is completed.

• End-to-end visibility: Track disbursements in the portal to understand when funds were dispersed and to whom.

Risk, Chargebacks, And Compliance

• Fraud controls: Use an in-house risk engine plus tools like multi-step authentication, 3-D Secure, SMS or document verification, AVS, and CVV checks to help reduce fraudulent transactions.

• Chargeback management: Access a specialized chargeback team and a chargeback management API. Vacation Rent Payment materials reference a high win rate in chargeback disputes, reflecting an emphasis on evidence gathering and processor workflows.

• Payment Facilitator and Merchant of Record options: Yapstone states it owns its technology stack and can act as your payment facilitator or Merchant of Record. As MoR, Yapstone manages card acceptance, settlement, and certain liabilities under the card scheme rules.

• Licensing and registration: Yapstone indicates it holds money transmitter licenses where required in the United States and is a registered financial institution for delivering payment services.

• PCI DSS: Yapstone is PCI DSS compliant and provides Level 1 certification for its platform. You still need to follow your own PCI responsibilities as applicable to your integration and handling of cardholder data.

• KYC and AML: Automated onboarding includes identity verification, sanctions screening, and business verification with expert review of exceptions.

Pricing And Fees

Vacation Rent Payment, powered by Yapstone, publishes a simple pricing plan for domestic card transactions and an option for custom pricing:

• Flat rate: 2.9% + 0.30 USD per successful domestic card charge

• No setup fee and a 25 USD chargeback fee

• Custom packages: Interchange-plus pricing, volume discounts, and dedicated support are available for higher-volume businesses

For small operators, there is a quick-apply flow for up to 10 properties. Larger portfolios typically work with sales for a tailored package. Pricing for international cards, digital wallets, or alternative methods is not publicly listed and will depend on your volume, mix, and risk profile.

Settlement, Timing, And Reconciliation

• Payout models: Yapstone tailors payout schedules to your business type and risk profile. Agreements may differ for individuals, property management companies, hotels, or marketplaces.

• Availability timeline: After Yapstone sends its direct deposit detail email confirming a settlement, funds are typically available in your bank account by the third business day.

• Ongoing review: The risk team can adjust payout frequency based on account performance and risk signals.

• Reporting and 1099-K: The merchant portal provides real-time views of payments, refunds, and chargebacks plus downloadable reports. If you qualify for a 1099-K, Yapstone issues it by January 31 for the prior calendar year.

Integration And Onboarding

• Onboarding API and hosted interface: You can embed onboarding into your own platform or use Yapstone’s hosted flow, which can be simpler for teams that prefer not to build KYC and document capture UI.

• Automated verification: KYC and AML checks, sanctions screening, and identity verification are incorporated into the onboarding flow with a human review path for exceptions.

• Developer resources: Yapstone provides API references and code samples in common languages.

• Support: A help center and customer support team assist with account setup, bank changes, settlement questions, and declines.

Practical Advantages For Vacation Rental Businesses

• Vertical specialization: Features, risk models, and dispute handling are tailored to bookings and stays. This alignment improves approval rates, reduces fraudulent activity specific to rentals, and supports operational needs like holding funds until check-out.

• Owner and vendor payouts: Built-in split and multi-party payouts reduce operational overhead for property managers and platforms.

• Choice of payment methods: Major cards, ACH and e-checks, and bank transfers cover the dominant preferences in US and EU vacation rental markets.

• MoR option: Offloading scheme liabilities and chargeback workflows to Yapstone can simplify operations for platforms and marketplaces.

• Unified portal: Visibility across payments, refunds, and disputes helps you reconcile faster and prepare financial statements.