A rental business owner seeks a way to automatically charge late fees, damage fees, or non-return penalties against held card details without collecting an upfront deposit. The challenge is that Shopify’s standard preauthorization only allows capturing the original rental amount, not additional charges.
Suggested workarounds include:
Partial.ly: Can charge additional fees at later dates but cannot do temporary card authorizations. Customers pay full rental price upfront and agree to potential future charges for damages/late returns.
Split it: Supports temporary authorizations but cannot charge above the authorized amount. Would require holding the rental price plus maximum potential fees upfront, then only charging what’s needed.
Subscription apps (e.g., Seal Subscriptions): A creative workaround where a subscription is created behind the scenes and swapped with a “penalty fee” product if needed. This introduces customer confusion due to subscription language appearing at checkout.
Key limitations: No ideal solution exists within Shopify’s native capabilities. Storing payment info directly raises PCI compliance and legal concerns requiring consultation with accountants and lawyers. The discussion remains open with participants still seeking better alternatives.
Hi Paul,
This is an old post, so I am wondering if you’ve seen any good solutions for charging a refundable security deposits for rental businesses?
I’ve seen partial payment apps, but would like the security deposit to be a separate item on the order, not part of the product price.
Ideally, we don’t want to charge that amount at the time of purchase, but rather charge it later as a penalty, if the rental item is not returned.
Appreciate your help,
Marianna