Travel companies are seeking to improve the payment experience for customers with most businesses planning to increase investment in payment capabilities in the months ahead.
A study from Outpayce, the payments company set up by Amadeus in early 2023, revealed that travel companies are planning to increase investment by 12% on average.
Companies also find it difficult keeping up with new payment methods with 51% of payment leaders in travel flagging it as a challenge, according to the research.
Top challenges centered around the integration of new payment methods were the cost of integration cited by 55%, building technical connections to different payment methods, 53%, and lack of resources to manage the growth in new methods, 45%.
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Handling cross-border payments was also flagged as a further challenge for the industry, according to 40% of respondents. Many travel companies have already turned to technology to simplify payment orchestration with 38% saying they already use a platform and a further 33% planning to in the next 12 months.
Top challenges with cross-border payments included handling multiple connects to payment providers, 51%, routing payments to best effect, 38%, and difficulty switching to new payment providers, 36%.
Respondents were also asked which payment methods their companies would be implementing in the months ahead with B2B virtual cards cited by 40%, followed by alternative payment methods, 34%, and a consistent payment experience by 30%.