Articles tagged “payments”

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

No word on yet on what activist hedge fund investor Paul Singer of Elliott Management might try to pressure Travelport do this year. But research analysts expect that, at the very least, the travel technology company will be pressed to spin off its fast-growing eNett payments business.