Why nobody in the yachting industry accepts credit/debit cards, PayPal, Zelle or other cash apps

Thomas Merlier
Yacht charter broker, DMA Yachting

Quite simple: high-value yacht charters are normally paid by bank transfer because it is the safest and most standard way to handle a large contractual booking.

In our experience, Greece yacht charters are not processed like a normal online purchase. The amounts are significant, the yacht is being taken off the market for your dates, and the booking is tied to a formal charter agreement. That is why professional brokers and yacht managers usually work with wire transfers rather than credit cards, PayPal, Zelle, or similar cash apps.

The main reason is chargeback and fraud risk. Card and app payments can be reversed, disputed, frozen, or flagged long after the funds appear to have arrived. In a charter business, that creates a serious problem: the yacht may already have been reserved, contracts signed, and services committed.

The industry has also seen cases where someone pays from a stolen card, then cancels and asks for a refund to a different account. That is exactly the kind of risk serious charter companies are trying to avoid.

So if you are asked to pay by bank transfer, that is usually not a red flag. It is the normal professional process for this type of booking. What matters is that you verify who you are paying: the company name, invoice details, charter agreement, and bank instructions should all match, and your broker should be willing to confirm everything clearly before you send funds.

The other thing that catches groups out is that the money has to come from one account. The yacht is booked on one contract with one named charterer, and each instalment has to reconcile against it, so four couples sending four transfers does not work. Settle the split among yourselves and send it as a single payment.

If the person paying is not the charterer, which happens often enough when a company pays for its directors or one person fronts the week, that is allowed and it takes two extra steps. The payer signs an addendum to the charter agreement and provides supporting documents so the funds can be identified against the booking. Tell your broker early, because the yacht is not held for you until the first payment has cleared.

If this is your first yacht charter, we are happy to walk you through that process step by step so you know exactly what is normal and what to check before payment.