When talking about “high-risk industries,” we often think of gambling, cryptocurrencies, or adult entertainment. However, many other industries also fall under the “high-risk” label, simply because of the high risk of fraud they have to deal with and the inherent volatility of their markets.
The travel industry is a prime example of that and many businesses in the travel industry have a hard time finding the right payment processor solutions that fit their needs and are suitable for the fast-moving travel industry market. To help with that, below we’ve listed some insight into what the right modern payment solutions for the travel industry look like.
What Problems Do Businesses in the Travel Industry Face and What Are Their Modern Solutions?
Travel agencies, vacation packages, cruise lines, tour operators, hotels, motels, and hostels, as well as timeshare sellers all face very unique problems that businesses in other industries don’t have, at least not to such extents. Last-minute cancellations, chargebacks, buyer’s remorse, disputed stays and delays, pre-authorized declines, future-dated transactions, refund requests, and other such payment issues plague the travel industry much more so than most other businesses.
These pose a significant challenge for any payment processor that aims to work well for travel businesses. Fortunately, there are examples of good and innovative processing solutions out there that excel at helping businesses in this niche. PayCompass is a prime example of that, having risen to prominence in recent years precisely by tailoring its services to high-risk industries in the travel sector. PayCompass’s travel payment solutions include many key tools and features that businesses outside the travel industry would also benefit from, but not to such a great degree, as what’s merely beneficial for other businesses is essential for those in the travel industry. Here are some key examples.
Fast Approvals
As a “high-risk industry,” travel businesses are often subjected to very slow and cumbersome approval times from banks and payment processors. This can be annoying at best or lead to major lost opportunities at worst, which is why payment processors that can work fast and lead to approvals in a timely manner are so essential.
Fraud and Chargeback Prevention
Few industries, if any, have to deal with chargebacks and fraud as often and at as large of a scale as the travel industry. The very nature of this industry and its varying payment methods, delays, declines, pre-payments, and other peculiarities simply make it very tempting for hackers and other cyber criminals to try and look for exploits.
Even just the risk of last-minute declines, false positives, and chargebacks is so significant that it can cost travel businesses a great deal of money over long periods of time. That’s why payment processors with good chargeback and fraud detection and prevention tools are so crucial. Anything from AI-powered detection algorithms to proper encryption and tokenization or biometric authentication is key for protecting your business’ interests.
Customizable and Simplifies Processing
Every different business in the travel industry has slightly different preferences and needs in how they want their payment processing to work. Simplicity is key in every instance, however, and a good payment processor must offer plenty of customization options while also keeping their front end simple and convenient to use.
Multi-Currency Support
This seems like a no-brainer, but too many payment processors even today don’t offer nearly broad enough multi-currency support, yet this is a must for any business in the travel industry.
Booking System Integration
Something a bit more unique to travel businesses, booking system integration is a key part to processing payments in the travel industry. Few processors offer that in a smooth enough manner, however.
Competitive Rates
Travel businesses often have to deal both with numerous smaller payments and to larger bulk payments. As such, the rates of different payment processors can impact them differently and it’s important to find a processor that doesn’t “punish” your business with overly significant rates.
Simplified Global Market Access
The world has been getting smaller for years, and travel businesses are far from the only ones that work on the international market. Yet, many payment processors don’t offer a good enough access to the broader global market, especially when some more niche countries and areas are concerned. As a travel business, it’s important to check if a payment processor offers simplified global market access to all the countries you operate in.
PayCompass is one of a very small selection of payment processors nowadays that offer the right set of tools for high-risk travel businesses to thrive, streamline and protect their payments, and simultaneously give their customers the convenience and customer experience they need to be satisfied and return again and again.
