Built for how your clients actually pay

Why direct bank transfer?

Most salon software assumes a card reader and a payment processor are a given, and treats anything else as cash you type in afterwards. In a lot of markets, that has it backwards: the transfer IS the payment, and the earlier the software knows about it, the more honest your books will be.

All you need to do is include your bank details and mark it as public. The client sees your account details at booking time, pays, and attaches a screenshot (optionally). You get a notification, check it against your bank, and confirm. The booking state follows along. Salyntra treats an acknowledged transfer as a real payment event.

How do card operations work?

Salyntra's card payments are powered by secure payment processors. Right now, that means Paystack, but you can expect more providers as our services expand. This process is also incredibly simple: type in your bank account and select your bank; Paystack pulls the account name and presents it to you for confirmation. Confirming the name connects your account.

Once that's done, clients can pay by card when they book. The payment provider splits the money (they collect a small processing fee) and settles straight to your bank. Salyntra never holds your money in a Salyntra balance, and we take nothing from it.

How does the proof-of-payment flow work for transfers?

The client submits a claim — “I have paid” — with an optional image of their transfer confirmation. The booking moves into a claimed state, and you receive a notice. You either confirm it, which moves the booking to confirmed, or reject it with a reason, and the client can correct and resubmit.

Claims do not sit in limbo. A claim waiting on your review expires back to awaiting-payment after a window you set — 48 hours by default — so an unresolved claim cannot silently hold a slot forever. Here are some other things you should know about this process:

• A booking with a claim temporarily holds a slot until it is accepted (in which case, the slot is held permanently) or rejected (which frees the slot).
• Proof images are private. They are served through an authorised proxy, never from a public URL.
• Rejections carry a reason, and the client can resubmit their proof.
• Unpaid bookings release their slot automatically after a window you choose.

How much do you charge for processing payments?

Nothing. We take no fixed or percentage charge for payment processing. Direct bank transfers are out of our control; the money lands directly in your account, and we see no need to have you pay a fee on money you've already counted as yours. We also do not charge for online card payments. However, most card processors charge a tiny fee for their services. They deduct that charge directly, and we receive none of it.

What payment policies can I set?

There are two key payment policy options: require payment to confirm a booking or not. If you require a deposit, you can set the deposit percentage from 10-100%, with the balance due on arrival. You can also require a deposit for specific services only or for all services. Paying this deposit confirms the user's booking.

If you don't require a deposit, clients can still decide to pay something upfront or pay in person. Your choice changes what the booking page requires and what state a new booking starts in, so the policy is enforced rather than merely suggested.

What payment methods can I publish?

Whatever you actually accept: bank transfer, mobile money, card machine in the salon, cash gift cards. Of course, not all of these should appear on the public booking page. Clients, for example, can't hand cash or use your physical card machine via the internet. Before making a method public, you'll also be required to provide payment instructions, such as account name, number, bank, or whatever the client needs to pay you correctly.

A method with no instructions filled in is not shown publicly, so a half-configured payee cannot reach a client as an empty box.

What happens after payment?

Partial payments, top-ups against a deposit, refunds and tips are all recorded against the appointment, and every payment event is kept as its own record rather than overwriting a single status field. When you need to work out what happened to a disputed booking, the sequence is there.

Amounts are formatted in the salon’s own currency and locale — naira, dollars, euros, pounds and others — so the numbers read the way your team and clients expect.