I take a gift card.
PayPal they can get back by contacting PayPal and disputing it.
I’m not yet brave enough to do bank transfers.
I ask everyone if they’d like to secure the booking with a deposit.
If they say no I just warn them that without a deposit the booking can be given to another if they choose to send a deposit for that time slot.
After this they either send a deposit or don’t, but from their reply you can quite often tell if they’re planning on showing or not.
E.g : no way I don’t do deposit, you’re a scam - probably not gonna show, eh
Eg : I’d prefer not to send a deposit, but I’ll be there at 3oclock on the dot, looking forward to seeing you. I understand though if you do have someone pay a deposit but please let me know. Thankyou. - probably a nice guy, ?!
Xx