Travel payment processing: What online travel agencies need to know

International travel is projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2024 and reach an estimated 1.4 billion cross-border trips by 2028, creating growth opportunities for online travel agencies, tour operators, and destination management companies while increasing the complexity of global payments. A survey by Airwallex and Skift found that cross-border payments account for more than a quarter of revenue for 75% of surveyed travel executives, yet many report that outdated payment systems harm efficiency and margins. Travel payment processing encompasses both collecting customer payments through gateways and processors and paying global suppliers, with transactions requiring authorization between acquiring and issuing banks. Key challenges include currency conversion, foreign-exchange fees and volatility, fraud prevention, regulatory hurdles, fragmented reconciliation, and managing local payment preferences. The text argues that travel businesses should adopt unified, multi-currency payment platforms with transparent FX pricing, rapid local payouts, automated reconciliation, strong security, and integrations with booking and accounting systems. It presents Airwallex as an end-to-end provider offering accounts, payment acceptance, transfers, virtual cards, and financial management capabilities across numerous countries and currencies.

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