Payment Policy

This Payment Policy forms part of the Terms & Conditions of GoSafara Holidays and applies to all payments made for holiday packages, flights, hotels, and related services booked through our website gosafara.com or via our customer service team. By making a payment, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to this Payment Policy.

1. Secure Payment Processing

All payments processed through GoSafara Holidays are handled by PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway providers. Your card details are encrypted using industry-standard TLS (Transport Layer Security) technology and are never stored on our servers. We do not see, store, or have access to your full card number, expiry date, or CVV code.

Payment is processed at the point of authorisation. We will only charge your card or BNPL account after you have reviewed and confirmed your booking details and the required deposit or full payment has been authorised.

2. Accepted Payment Methods

GoSafara Holidays accepts the following payment methods:

Credit and Debit Cards: Visa, Mastercard, and American Express (where supported by our payment gateway).
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): Tabby and Tamara, when available on our checkout. BNPL eligibility is determined by the respective provider and is subject to their own terms and credit assessment.
Bank Transfers: Local UAE bank transfers and international wire transfers. Bank transfer bookings are confirmed only after funds have been received and verified in our account, which may take 1–3 business days.
Apple Pay and Google Pay: Where supported by your device and our payment gateway.

We reserve the right to add, remove, or modify accepted payment methods at any time without prior notice.

3. Credit & Debit Cards

When you pay by credit or debit card, the following applies:

The card must be issued in your name. Third-party cards are not accepted without additional verification.
For fraud prevention, we may request additional verification (e.g., a copy of the cardholder's ID, a photograph of the card with certain digits visible) before processing high-value transactions.
Authorisation holds may be placed on your card at the time of booking. The actual charge is processed once the booking is confirmed.
If a card payment is declined, your booking will not be confirmed until an alternative payment method is provided.
3D Secure (Verified by Visa, Mastercard SecureCode) may be required for some transactions, as determined by your card issuer.

4. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) — Tabby & Tamara

GoSafara Holidays offers Buy Now, Pay Later options through Tabby and Tamara where available. These services allow you to split your payment into instalments. The following terms apply:

Eligibility: BNPL approval is determined solely by Tabby or Tamara. GoSafara Holidays has no control over the approval process and cannot guarantee that any customer will be approved.
Instalment plans: The number of instalments, amounts, and due dates are set by the BNPL provider. Please review their terms carefully before selecting this option.
Responsibility: Once you select a BNPL option and the provider approves your plan, you enter into a separate agreement with the BNPL provider. GoSafara Holidays is not a party to this agreement and cannot modify its terms.
Failed instalments: Late or missed payments to Tabby or Tamara are handled directly by the provider and may incur late fees. Please refer to Tabby's or Tamara's respective terms for details.
Refunds: Refunds for BNPL purchases are processed back to the BNPL provider. See our Refund & Cancellation Policy for BNPL-specific refund handling.

5. Bank Transfers

If you choose to pay by bank transfer, please note:

Payment must be received in our bank account within 48 hours of the booking request, or the booking may be cancelled.
Please include your booking reference number as the transfer reference so we can match the payment to your booking.
All bank charges and transfer fees are the responsibility of the sender. Short payments will delay booking confirmation.
Bank transfer payments take 1–3 business days to clear and appear in our account. Bookings are confirmed only after funds have cleared.
We accept UAE Dirham (AED) transfers. Transfers in other currencies will be converted at the prevailing exchange rate, and any conversion fees are borne by the sender.

6. Currency

All prices displayed on our website and charged at checkout are in UAE Dirhams (AED). If your card is issued in a currency other than AED, your card issuer will convert the charge at their prevailing exchange rate and may apply additional foreign transaction fees. GoSafara Holidays is not responsible for currency conversion rates or fees applied by your card issuer or bank.

7. Payment Authorisation

When you submit a payment, the following authorisation process occurs:

Authorisation: Your card or BNPL provider checks whether sufficient funds or credit are available and places a hold for the payment amount.
Capture: Once we confirm your booking with all suppliers, we capture (finalise) the authorised payment. This may occur immediately or within 24–48 hours.
Failure to capture: If we cannot confirm your booking (e.g., supplier unavailability), we will release the authorisation hold. The funds will return to your account within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank.
Partial payments: If only a deposit is required, we will authorise and capture the deposit amount. The balance will be charged separately closer to the departure date, subject to the Terms & Conditions.

8. Fraud Prevention

GoSafara Holidays takes payment fraud seriously. We use a combination of automated fraud detection systems and manual review processes to identify and prevent fraudulent transactions. Measures we employ include:

Address Verification Service (AVS) and Card Verification Value (CVV) checks for all card payments.
3D Secure authentication where required by the card issuer.
IP address and device fingerprinting to detect suspicious activity.
Velocity checks to identify unusually frequent or high-value transactions.
Manual review of high-value or flagged transactions, which may include requesting identity verification documents.

If we suspect fraud, we reserve the right to delay or decline a transaction, request additional verification, or cancel a booking. We may also report suspected fraudulent activity to the relevant authorities and card networks.

9. Chargebacks

A chargeback is a payment dispute initiated by a customer through their card issuer. If you believe a charge from GoSafara Holidays is incorrect or fraudulent, we encourage you to contact us first at holidays@gosafara.com to resolve the dispute directly, as this is typically faster than a chargeback.

If a chargeback is initiated, the following applies:

We will provide the card issuer with all relevant transaction evidence, including booking confirmations, communications, and payment records.
If the chargeback is resolved in our favour (e.g., the booking was confirmed and services were delivered), the chargeback will be reversed.
If the chargeback is resolved in your favour, we will process the refund less any applicable cancellation charges as per our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
Initiating a fraudulent chargeback may result in your account being blocked and may be reported to relevant authorities.
GoSafara Holidays reserves the right to recover chargeback-related costs, including chargeback fees and the cost of services already rendered to suppliers.

10. Refund Process

Refunds are processed in accordance with our Refund & Cancellation Policy. Key points regarding payment refunds:

Refunds are returned to the original payment method used for the transaction (card, BNPL, or bank account).
We cannot refund to a different card or account than the one used for payment.
Refund processing times: 5–10 business days for cards, 7–14 business days for bank transfers and BNPL.
GoSafara Holidays initiates the refund within 3 business days of cancellation confirmation. The receiving institution's processing time is outside our control.
Currency conversion refunds (if the original payment was in a non-AED currency) will be processed at the exchange rate applicable on the date of refund, which may differ from the original transaction rate.

11. Payment Security

We employ the following security measures to protect your payment information:

PCI-DSS compliance: All payment processing is handled by PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant payment gateway providers.
Encryption: All payment data in transit is encrypted using TLS 1.2 or higher. We never store full card numbers, CVV codes, or PINs.
Tokenisation: Where supported, we use payment tokens instead of storing card details, reducing the risk of data exposure.
Secure infrastructure: Our website and databases are hosted on secure cloud infrastructure with regular security audits and penetration testing.
Access controls: Only authorised personnel with a legitimate business need can access payment-related records. All access is logged and monitored.
Compliance with UAE regulations: We comply with applicable UAE financial regulations, including those set by the Central Bank of the UAE regarding electronic payments.

If you believe your payment has been compromised or you notice an unauthorised charge from GoSafara Holidays, please contact us immediately at holidays@gosafara.com or call +971 4 300 1234.