TL;DR:<\/strong><\/p>\n A salon needs more than a card machine. Clients pay at different moments \u2013 when they book, at reception and sometimes after a phone call \u2013 so each moment needs its own channel:<\/p>\n Refund and dispute rules differ by channel too. Card payments can be disputed through a chargeback, and a wallet payment follows the rules of the card behind it, so ask each provider how disputes are handled before you rely on a channel for large amounts. For account-to-account payments, see our guide to pay by bank in Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n Deposits protect you against no-shows without demanding full payment upfront, which suits most hair and beauty services. Full prepayment makes more sense for long or high-value treatments, where a last-minute cancellation leaves a gap you can\u2019t refill.<\/p>\n In Altegio this is handled by payment policies<\/a>. In Deposit mode the client pays an upfront amount \u2013 a percentage of the visit or a fixed sum \u2013 when booking online. The deposit is held against the appointment and applied as the first payment when the visit is closed at checkout. If the client doesn\u2019t pay before the payment deadline (15 minutes by default), the appointment is cancelled automatically. Deposit mode works with the payment systems available in your region, such as Stripe. Card guarantee mode, where the client links a card instead of paying upfront, works only with Adyen and only in EU countries.<\/p>\n Payment policies apply automatically to appointments made online. When a client books by phone or in a messenger, the administrator adds the policy to the appointment: Altegio calculates the deposit and creates a payment link with a deadline, which you send to the client or copy and share yourself.<\/p>\n The real cost of payments rarely shows up on the fee statement. It shows up in reconciliation: matching appointments to card slips to bank payouts at the end of every day. When the systems are connected, a deposit taken online already appears against its appointment, the rest of the visit is paid in the same window, and the figures land in your finance reports without being typed in twice.<\/p>\n Here is how that works in Altegio:<\/p>\n Altegio doesn\u2019t charge its own commission on payments. If you take in-salon card payments on a separate terminal, record each one under the matching payment method at checkout so the visit, the fee and the cash register stay in step. See how the pieces fit together on the finances and accounting<\/a> page.<\/p>\n Before choosing any provider, run them through a proper test:<\/p>\n Pro Tip:<\/strong> Ask for a live walkthrough of a refund and a chargeback during the demo, not just a payment. That\u2019s where most setups fall apart.<\/em><\/p>\n Headline rates rarely tell the whole story. A typical quote combines several separate costs: a percentage per payment, a fixed fee per payment, different rates for consumer, business and non-European cards, terminal rental or purchase, a monthly fee, refund fees and chargeback handling. That\u2019s why an all-in comparison matters more than a single percentage.<\/p>\n The fixed part matters more than most owners expect. Take the Adyen rates available through Altegio for European consumer cards, 0.99% + \u20ac0.20 per payment:<\/p>\n Ask every provider to run the same calculation on your real mix of tickets. Business cards and cards issued outside the EEA cost more: through Altegio, Adyen charges 2.50% + \u20ac0.20 for EEA commercial cards, 2.90% + \u20ac0.20 for non-EEA consumer cards and 3.90% + \u20ac0.20 for non-EEA commercial cards, while EEA consumer cards make up about 90% of transactions. On an average turnover, what you save on processing with Adyen via Altegio<\/a> can cover the cost of your Altegio subscription.<\/p>\n Surcharging rules also limit what you can pass on to clients. Under Article 62 of the Payment Services Directive (EU) 2015\/2366, a business may not charge extra for card payments whose interchange fees are capped under Regulation (EU) 2015\/751, which covers most consumer debit and credit card payments, or for SEPA credit transfers and direct debits. Where a surcharge is allowed at all, it can\u2019t exceed your direct cost, and each EU country may restrict it further.<\/p>\n Watch for:<\/p>\n Ask every provider for a full written fee breakdown and a sample merchant statement before you sign.<\/p>\n Client details and payment records are personal data under the GDPR (Regulation 2016\/679): collect only what you need, keep it secure and decide who in the team can see it. Card security is governed by the card industry\u2019s PCI DSS standard, and how much of that work falls on you depends on your setup. When clients enter card details on the payment provider\u2019s own page, the card number never passes through your hands; writing card numbers down or keying them in for clients puts far more risk on your side. When you connect Adyen in Altegio, the onboarding includes a PCI DSS questionnaire.<\/p>\n Practical safeguards that cut your exposure:<\/p>\n From 20 November 2026, EU countries apply the new Consumer Credit Directive (EU) 2023\/2225. It explicitly brings buy now, pay later schemes into its scope, and it requires the lender to carry out a thorough creditworthiness check before the credit agreement is concluded. If you offer a third-party finance option for premium treatments, the lender carries those obligations, but you should still confirm it is authorised in your country.<\/p>\n There is a real difference between letting a client pay you later and arranging credit. The directive excludes deferred payments where the business itself, with no third-party lender involved, gives the client time to pay free of interest and other charges (apart from limited late-payment charges under national law) and the full amount is paid within 50 days. A plan run by an outside lender, or one that charges interest or fees, is consumer credit. Before offering any option, check:<\/p>\n In Altegio, Payment methods and fees has an Installments toggle for credit cards, meant for businesses that let clients pay in parts, for example for packages or high-ticket services. It is part of the settings that define how payments and fees are recorded; it doesn\u2019t lend money, so any instalment plan still comes from your card provider or a lender.<\/p>\n Instalments make the most sense for higher-ticket services such as colour correction packages or multi-session courses, where spreading the cost removes a genuine barrier rather than just adding friction.<\/p>\n Pick on operational fit first, fee differences second. A provider charging slightly less per payment but creating two extra hours of reconciliation a week is not the cheaper option.<\/p>\n With Adyen in Altegio, payouts go to your business bank account automatically once a week, on Monday morning. The Adyen dashboard under Finance shows each payment with its gross and net amount, your available and reserved balance and the payouts sent, and you can filter transactions, export them and issue refunds there. A refund may carry its own fee, and the original processing fee isn\u2019t returned. Adyen availability depends on your country and business category, and it isn\u2019t available for individual entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n Pro Tip:<\/strong> If a provider can\u2019t show a refund resolving cleanly in under a minute, assume it will take your team considerably longer on a busy Saturday.<\/em><\/p>\n Red flags: vague answers about payout timing, reluctance to share a sample statement, or contracts that require 24 months\u2019 commitment before you\u2019ve even run a trial.<\/p>\n Salons tend to lose more time to disconnected tools than to transaction fees. One system where the appointment, the payment, the card fee and the payroll sit together reconciles itself; three systems have to be reconciled by hand. That\u2019s why Altegio keeps payments, finance and payroll<\/a> in the same platform as online booking.<\/p>\n In practice, that integration is what turns admin hours into time on the floor. When deposits, receipts and payroll are calculated from the same records, the end-of-day check becomes a quick look at one report instead of an evening with a spreadsheet.<\/p>\n If you are juggling a booking app, a separate card machine and a spreadsheet for reconciliation, that is the gap Altegio closes. It is appointment software for beauty, wellness, clinics, fitness, auto services and other appointment-based businesses, with online booking, payments, finance and reporting in one place. Your client base stays yours under Altegio’s Zero-Competition Policy: there is no marketplace listing rival businesses next to yours, clients book through your own links, and client data is never resold. The price depends on the number of team members and the billing period \u2013 see pricing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Start a 7-day free trial<\/a> and test the full daily flow yourself: a client books online and pays a deposit, checks out in the salon, and the figures land in your reports without anyone touching a spreadsheet.<\/p>\n Salons typically accept card and contactless at reception, digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, and online card payments for deposits or prepayments. Many also send payment links for phone bookings and accept local methods that are popular in their country, such as BLIK in Poland or Bizum in Spain.<\/p>\n The strongest option is one that links appointments, checkout and payment records, so the card fee, the receipt and payroll come from the same data rather than manual entry. In Altegio, payments are recorded against the visit, card fees are written off as an expense item automatically, and the results show up in the finance reports.<\/p>\n A good salon POS works from your appointment calendar, so deposits, split payments and payroll reconcile without extra admin. Look for one that also handles refunds cleanly, since disputed payments are where disconnected systems cause the most delay.<\/p>\n Yes, most salons accept credit and debit cards on a card terminal or through an online payment link. In the EU a salon can\u2019t add a surcharge for paying with most consumer debit or credit cards.<\/p>\n This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ between EU countries, so check your national law or ask a lawyer or accountant before acting.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How salons in Europe can take deposits, card and online payments, keep card fees in the books and offer instalments \u2013 and what to check before signing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":49676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[75,81],"tags":[974,78,383,286],"class_list":["post-49703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-finance","tag-card-payments","tag-finance","tag-fintech","tag-online-booking"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n
\nWhich payment channels should your salon accept?<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/alteg.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/payment-processing-for-salons-01.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nDeposits and prepayments without chasing no-shows<\/h2>\n
Why linking appointments and payments saves admin<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
What do salon payment fees and contracts include?<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
Data protection and card security: what salons must get right<\/h2>\n
\n
Offering instalments and buy now, pay later: what to check<\/h2>\n
\n
How do you choose the right payments partner?<\/h2>\n
\n
Our take: integration beats the lowest fee<\/h2>\n
See how integrated payments work for your business<\/h2>\n
FAQ<\/h2>\n
What payment methods are commonly used for salon services?<\/h3>\n
What is the best billing software for a salon?<\/h3>\n
What is the best POS software for salons?<\/h3>\n
Can I pay with a credit card at a hair salon?<\/h3>\n
Read next<\/h2>\n
\n