Design the Future Video: Why Seamless Payments Are Critical to the Future of Travel

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner.

In this video:

• Why the “Uber experience” is coming for travel payments: Consumers are demanding simple, seamless payments for travel that they’ve enjoyed in other commercial sectors for a long time. The ability for travel companies to ease and streamline purchases throughout the customer journey will be imperative in the coming years.
• Travel businesses shouldn’t have to be payment companies: No one got into the travel business because of a passion for calculating currency conversion rates. By offering flexibility and convenience when it comes to payment methods and currency choices — with transparent, traceable security — travel companies can meet guests where they are and focus on what really matters: personal service.
• Brands can build trust and drive loyalty with payment technology: From multi-generational vacations to friend-group trips, splitting payments and sharing travel experiences has never been easier. These are just a couple of examples why the future of payments is the future of traveler satisfaction.

Emerging from the pandemic, travelers are planning longer, more complex, and ultimately more expensive trips for 2022 as they scratch their itch to make up for lost time. Travel companies are welcoming the increased demand, but consumer expectations are shifting, driving businesses to rethink their approach to payments.

In this video conversation from Skift’s recent Design the Future event, we hear from Colin Smyth, vice president and general manager, travel, Flywire, and Dan Marcec, Research Editor, SkiftX, about the rising expectations among travelers to enjoy the seamless transactions that they’re seeing in other commerce sectors, and how the industry will be able to build trust and brand loyalty by implementing better payment systems — allowing them to focus on what they do best.