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How do I charge payments via UPC on ePass?

This article explains the process of receiving payments via UPC on ePass, including settling payments, handling Adjustment Transactions, and issuing new cards.

Last updated: 5 days ago | 16 min read time

What is UPC on ePass?

The Unique Payment Card (UPC) on ePass (Electronic Payment Administration Self Service) is a convenient payment method available through YCS >> Finance. It generates a single-use virtual credit card (UPC), allowing you to create one payout batch for multiple bookings. Here are some key points about UPC on ePass:

Settle payments within 24 hours: Ensure that you charge the UPC within 24 hours of the payment’s availability to avoid expiration. If the UPC is not charged within this time, you’ll need to wait 72 hours to generate a new UPC.
Usage limitations: UPCs are specifically designed for charges via POS terminals under the default merchant category code (MCC), namely, Lodging – Hotels, Motels, Resorts, or Central Reservation Services businesses. As the UPC does not support 3Ds (3D secure authentication method) POS terminals, you will need a non-3Ds POS terminal to charge the UPC.
Payment time limit: Payments must be charged to the UPC within 150 days of a booking’s check-out date. After this 150-day period, the earnings will no longer be available for you to claim. Please contact us for assistance if any payments expire.
Single usage: The UPC is valid only for a single use. Please ensure the full amount is charged to avoid any discrepancies.

For more information, please refer to:  What is ePass?

How do I settle payments?

Go to YCS >> Finance >> Current Transactions : You may be asked to provide an OTP. The OTP will be sent to your registered email address.
The Current Transactions – Earnings page shows the total amount of earnings available for payout, including which bookings are eligible to claim. By default, all eligible bookings will be automatically selected (ticked). Untick the box(es) of any bookings you do not want to be included in your payout batch.
Scroll down to check the Adjustments section. Please refer here for more information on adjustment transactions.
Click Get payout to view a summary of your earnings payout. Note: You may only submit an earnings payout if the net value is positive. If your total earnings amount is negative, you will need to wait for more booking transactions to become eligible.
If all details in the payout summary are correct, click Confirm.
Charge the total amount to your UPC using the card details. Depending on your YCS user role, you will see either masked or full card details.
The approved payout batch and transaction details will be reflected on YCS >> Finance >> Remittances. The bookings included in the approved payout batch will no longer be shown on the Current Transactions – Earnings page. For more information, refer to: How do I review past payments?

What are Adjustment Transactions?

On the Finance >> Current Transactions – Earnings page, there is a section called Adjustments. Agoda makes manual adjustments to ensure that the earnings paid to partners are correct. When manual adjustments are made, they will appear under the Adjustments section. Manual adjustments are made due to, but not limited to, the following reasons:

Charges levied for rejecting an Agoda confirmed booking
Incorrect tax rate on bookings
Agreements made to allow customers to cancel their booking with a different cancellation policy than on the original booking
Outstanding balances or overcharges

When an adjustment transaction is included in an approved payment batch, it will be removed from the Adjustments section. The adjustment will then be reflected in the respective payment batch on the Finance >> Remittances page. Things to note:

Adjustment transactions cannot be excluded from payout batches.
You may only submit an earnings payout if the net value available for payout is positive. If your total earnings amount is negative, you will need to wait for more booking transactions to become eligible.

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How can I issue a new UPC?

If you fail to charge the UPC within 24 hours of issuance, you will need to reissue the UPC by following the steps below. Note: Please ensure that the payment status is Not Paid; if the UPC has been partially charged, the Reissue Card button will not be available.

Go to YCS >> Finance >> Remittances and locate the payout batch that you need to reissue the UPC for.
Under the expiry date of the payout batch, find the orange Reissue Card button.
New UPC card details will be provided. Please charge the total payout batch amount within 24 hours of receiving the new UPC card to ensure that it does not expire again.
You can reissue a UPC for a payout batch up to three times. If further reissuance is needed, please contact us for assistance with payment.

How do I handle partial charges for UPC on ePass?

When charging payments with UPCs generated on YCS >> Finance, please ensure that the total payout amount is charged, as they can only be charged once. Here’s how to handle partial charges.

What is a partial charge? A partial charge occurs when only a portion of the total payout amount is charged, leaving a pending balance to be charged later.

Common causes of partial charges:
- Transactions approved in bulk but not fully charged or authorized for the total amount.

- Limitations of the POS/EDC (Electronic Data Capture) machines that prevent charging the full amount in one go.

- The payout batch was not fully charged, and the remaining balance was returned to the UPC card (reverse authorization).

- Errors on POS/EDC machines during charging, causing the bank to reverse the charged amount back to the UPC (reverse authorization).

How do I handle partial charges?

To correct partial charges, you will need to request a top-up by following the steps below. Please note that reverse authorization, which returns an authorized or settled amount, is not recommended as this can take up to 14 days for the amount to be tracked in our system, delaying the top-up process significantly.

Settle the partial transaction by charging the partial payout amount.
Check the payment status of the payout batch to ensure it is marked as Paid before proceeding. (YCS >> Finance >> Remittances >> click on the respective batch to view details)

- If the payment status is Authorize (Not Returned), please contact us to request for the total remaining balance to be topped up.
  - Go to YCS and click on the Need Help button in the bottom right corner of the page
  - Select Payments >> Payment inquiry >> Manage payments >> Contact Agoda
  - Provide details of your request, including the reference number of the payout batch that you need to request a top-up for.

- If the payment status is Reverse Authorization (Returned),
  - Contact your bank to inquire about the transaction status and confirm if a reversal was successfully processed.
  - Allow up to 14 days for the amount to be returned to the UPC card.
  - Once the amount has been returned to the UPC, contact us to request for the total remaining balance to be topped up.
  - Go to YCS and click on the Need Help button in the bottom right corner of the page
  - Select Payments >> Payment inquiry >> Manage payments >> Contact Agoda
  - Provide details of your request, including the reference number of the payout batch that you need to request a top-up for.

FAQs

1. Is there a limit to how many UPC approvals I can submit per day?

There is no limit to the number of UPC approvals you can submit daily. However, ensure you do not exceed your daily credit limit. Remember, each UPC card is valid for 24 hours once issued.

2. What if the 150-day period for claiming my earnings payout has passed?

Payments must be charged to the UPC within 150 days of a booking’s check-out date. After this 150-day period, the earnings will no longer be available for you to claim.

3. Why can't I charge the UPC even though it has been less than 24 hours?

Double check the UPC card number, CVV number, payment amount, and expiry date, as well as your internet connection. If you’ve made a partial charge, please follow the steps above to resolve the error.

4. How do I settle payments for amended or cancelled bookings?

Look for an email with “AMENDED” in the subject line, which will include an updated booking confirmation. The new amount will also appear in the Booking Transactions section of the YCS >> Finance >> Current Transactions page. Follow the steps in How do I settle payments? If the amendment occurred after the initial transaction, the difference will be shown in the Adjustment Transactions section. Here is an example of an updated booking confirmation for an amended booking: a-screenshot-of-a-hotel-registration-form__description-automatically-generated-1

5. Why can't I view the complete UPC and CVV number?

Ensure that your user role has the necessary permissions to access the Card Info Viewer on YCS. For more information, refer to: How do I manage user access for my property using the YCS User Management tool? If you are still unable to view the card details in order to charge the UPC, please refer to: What should I do if I can’t charge a payment? 

6. I have reversed the authorization, why does the payment status still show as Paid?

Reverse authorization does not change the Paid status. The system automatically marks bookings as Paid when a payout batch is created and approved, even if the payment is not yet settled.

7. I want to add another booking transaction to the payout batch I submitted, can I cancel and redo it?

Once a payout batch is submitted, it cannot be reverted or cancelled. Please create a new payout batch including the booking transaction for which you would like to claim your earnings.

8. If my POS terminal has limitations on the amount that can be charged in one transaction, can I charge my UPC multiple times to receive my total payout?

No, UPC cards can only be charged once. Please ensure that you create payout batches that are within the limitations of your POS terminal. By default, all bookings will be selected when you create a payout batch. However, you can deselect (untick) as many bookings as necessary to change the total amount for payout on the YCS >> Finance >> Current Transactions – Earnings page.

Contact us

Still looking for a solution? Access YCS and click on the Need Help button in the bottom right corner of the page. If you do not have access to YCS, please contact us via other methods.