SkiftX
A smart payments strategy sits at the heart of any successful travel business. But too many companies take this hidden infrastructure for granted in their decision-making. In this conversation with executives from Visa, we get a better sense of the evolving role that payments technology plays in today’s frictionless travel experience.
1 month ago
Anuchit Nguyen and Yoolim Lee, Bloomberg
Southeast Asian banks are investing in the region's biggest ridehailing rivals, Go-Jek and Grab, to hitch a ride on their expansion into financial services. These unicorns have moved beyond ridehailing, with payments being a hotly-contested battleground.
2 months ago
Flywire Payment Solutions + Skift
The travel industry has its own set of unique challenges when it comes to getting cross-border payments right. There are a few key tactics that can turn a good payments strategy into a great one.
2 months ago
SkiftX
Mobile payments are already commonplace in parts of Asia — China particularly — but as travelers adopt these tools, travel companies will need both local expertise and deep technological capabilities to make sure their guests can pay when and how they like.
2 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Cryptocurrency is only in its early days, but already it's easy to see how its mission to democratize the financial system might be co-opted. And do currency reformers really need Facebook, with all of its baggage, leading this Libra effort?
2 months ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Amazon's deal with Cleartrip using Amazon Pay for India domestic flights could be a forerunner of similar moves in other emerging markets where payment systems are being disrupted. This time around in travel, Amazon has decided to partner rather than build its own offering — a very reasonable way to get back into the game.
3 months ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
With this investment, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin has raised $800 million to grow Affirm, which lets consumers pre-qualify for loans to buy flights, hotels, rental cars, seat upgrades, and non-travel products. Who said payments aren't sexy?
5 months ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Americans and Europeans who used to scoff at QR-style bar codes are going to need to learn how to use them to pay for meals, attractions, and tickets whenever they visit Japan. The reason? Swelling Chinese tourism is prompting the country to adopt China’s preferred mobile payment method.
5 months ago
Felice Maranz, Bloomberg
Worldpay is of the biggest players in processing cross-border payments, especially for travel companies. Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) will buy Worldpay in a $34 billion deal that will be one of the largest transactions yet in the fast-consolidating payments sector. But if the merger distracts Worldpay from expanding in emerging markets, rivals might steal share.
5 months ago
Julie Verhage, Bloomberg
PayPal co-founder Max Levchin said his new startup Affirm is piloting a new product where consumers can pre-qualify for a 20-day period with a specific merchant to add on items as they build out their trip, such as flights, hotels, rental cars, seat upgrades. The new effort will bring stiff competition to other startups like Uplift, Airfordable, and AirWallex.
9 months ago
Dan Peltier, Skift
High upfront costs remain a barrier to many travelers who can't make a large purchase all at once. Affirm is trying to remove that obstacle and other travel brands are warming up to the monthly payments model in the process.
1 year ago
Sean O'Neill, Skift
Care to buy a plane ticket without needing a credit card? Soon a few airlines will test enabling air travelers to pay for their tickets by taking payments directly from consumer accounts. Three cheers for testing innovations.
1 year ago