Payment fraud a growing threat for agents in Canada

Monday, 05 Feb, 2016 0

Payment fraud is top of mind as a major concern for travel agents in Canada, new research reveals.

Market research firm Euromonitor says fraud prevention is a top priority for supplier payments.

The study showed that despite a weak currency, Canadians are making more overseas trips, to more exotic locations.

As a result, agencies are making more payments to previously unknown travel suppliers, often in areas where the risk of fraud is high.

Research found 90% of all hotel bookings made by agencies were made through a customer’s credit card but they reported growing resistance from travel buyers and individual customers to share card details with unknown suppliers overseas.

"The research has shown how growing international and online payments are increasing the risk of fraud. Agencies are being driven to find alternative payment options that will enable them to keep up with industry trends, while protecting them and their customers from fraudulent transactions," said Anthony Hynes, CEO of B2B travel payments company eNett.

eNett, which is backed by Travelport, uses virtual account numbers (VANs) which automatically generate a 16-digit number to be used for supplier payments.

Travel agents can specify strict parameters for each payment to minimize potential fraud, such as the exact amount, currency, date of transaction and merchant, eNett said.

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TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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