Halifax-based b4, which offers Software-as-a-Service solutions to the hospitality industry, has launched a contactless payments process to help hotels bounce back from the pandemic.

The new physical distancing and hygiene requirements make the old ways of accepting and processing credit cards risky.

B4 (formerly b4checkin) said in a statement that taking payment over the phone is an option but it leaves hoteliers open to challenges such as manually keying a credit card, which costs more in transaction fees and has a higher risk of fraud or chargebacks (return of money to a guest).

The company’s solution is TransForm, a contactless process that allows the property to take payments online as an eCommerce transaction.

“Contactless payments are an easy way to exercise safer hygiene standards following the COVID-19 pandemic,” said b4 CEO Saar Fabrikant in a statement.

“It’s an easy fix that will ease the minds of guests and staff moving forward, and ultimately adds a higher level of security during the payment process in a time when chargebacks can’t be afforded.”

With TransForm, hoteliers send a payment request link to guests and the guest then pays from wherever they happen to be. The system integrates into a property’s payment gateway so it requires no manual keying of credit card data, leaving the hotel safer from fraud, chargebacks, and terminal fees, the company said.

The product already has clients.

“We have had many people trying to check in at the desk and requesting remote payment,” said Alan Torres, Guest Manager at Holiday Inn Express Metrotown Vancouver.

The company said it has several major competitors in the space, but TransForm is one of the few options that requires no manual keying of credit card data.