Six reasons travel businesses must offer more ways to pay
Feb 27, 2019
Our latest whitepaper argues that the evolution of the travel industry compels businesses operating in this sector to strongly consider upgrading their checkouts by offering more payment methods.
Like many industries, digital disruption has changed the way that consumers shop for travel experiences. Access to more information online, travel offer aggregators, review sites, and peer-to-peer travel services are just some of the factors that have played a role in transforming how customers select services such as a holiday, flight, cruise, or hotel stay, as well as changed their expectations regarding costs.
Travel agents and tour operators have demonstrated their willingness to adapt as the industry transforms; they are not only successfully navigating these new challenges but also embracing the opportunities provided by new technologies and changing buying habits.
But that doesn’t mean that travel businesses can afford to stop innovating. Paysafe’s latest whitepaper, written jointly with our partner optile, takes a closer look at how travel businesses can continue to stay ahead of the curve as the industry evolves, specifically with regards to payments.
The need to accept more payment methods, and how to do it
As eCommerce trends evermore global, it is increasingly important that the fragmented online payment landscape is reflected at the checkout. Businesses are aware of this, and are reacting accordingly.
In Paysafe’s latest Lost in Transaction research report, 75% of online businesses we surveyed stated that offering more payment options is critical to future success; the average number of payment methods offered for those businesses surveyed is predicted to rise from four to six within two years.
For the travel industry, the pressures to diversify the checkout are even greater. In The future of payments in travel we explain the six reasons why it is essential for travel businesses to strongly consider adding more methods to their digital payment offering, ranging from the growing trend of regional payment preferences to the consumer payment opportunities created by PSD2.
And then there is the question of how to offer more payment methods in the most efficient way, from a technology perspective as well as the allocation of resources. Integrating more payment methods at the checkout can be a complicated process, particularly if the existing API protocols currently employed are restrictive in coding.
In this report we examine not only how this issue can be overcome, but also achieved in a way that doesn’t compromise consumer experience or increase the security risks of the checkout.
To read more about why travel businesses must consider offering more online payment methods, and how this can be done in the most efficient way, download The future of payments in travel now
