How to make payments work for your travel business   Harry White, travel expert at Ecommpay, a leading international payment service provider, explains how travel operators can use payments – and indeed payment partners – as a strategic growth lever post-pandemic.   Harry, what’s the current ‘state of the nation’ in the travel industry from your vantage point?   In the last few years, we’ve had to deal with everything from a global pandemic to geopolitical turmoil and economic woes.   Relationships, balance sheets and liquidity have all suffered. But the businesses that have survived have learned a great deal and proved themselves strong.   I’ve seen the sector become more resilient because of Covid. Necessity is the mother of invention after all, and it’s been a case of adapt or die.   Both travel operators and payment providers had to update policies, terms and conditions, plus consider things they may never have considered before, particularly around how they manage risk and convert sales.   Have payment providers tightened their requirements for working with travel businesses?   That’s tricky as it really depends on the provider. Since the pandemic, some providers and acquirers have been cautious when it comes to working with travel companies. Some have off-boarded clients.   Almost everyone in the industry has heard horror stories of operators being given 30 days’ notice of termination, with little-to-no warning or explanation.   At Ecommpay, we don't necessarily consider the travel industry high risk. But that’s because we’re specialists in the space and have the risk appetite but also the controls in place to manage it.   That said, we certainly don't want to end up footing the bill if an operator fails. If we’d processed £50 million worth of card sales and the operator went bust, we’d be dealing with a scary amount of potential chargebacks.   What do you consider before onboarding a travel client?   I am confident in our product to manage potential risk, but before we approach a merchant, we need to have a good idea of where the risk is and how we will need to manage it.   I examine each merchant’s business model before the contract and onboarding stage. For example, one operator issues tickets within 24 hours, which come directly from the airline. In that scenario, the airline can't cancel the ticket because they've already been paid. If the travel operator fails, the tickets are still valid, which decreases our risk exposure.   Another one of our merchants organizes religious tours. When the current Middle Eastern conflict began, several airlines cancelled flights, leaving them with £100,000 in refunds. They had learned from the pandemic, updated their terms and conditions, and improved customer communication.   As their acquirer, we were confident they knew how to manage the situation. Other providers would simply ask for a £100,000 hold-back and instruct the merchant to issue refunds, which isn’t helpful, really.   In summary, it's all about developing a close partnership, being open and devising policies and systems to manage risk.   Well, how can travel operators minimise their risk exposure?   Unfortunately, there's no silver bullet. Rather, it’s a matrix of measures. One practical tip for operators is to have the correct terms and conditions in place. This helps mitigate the impact of card chargebacks for both operators and providers. If you're in doubt, ask your payment partner for help.   Ecommpay has a standard terms and conditions template that protects against most eventualities. Also, remember that card schemes may not accept your terms and conditions. As a principal member of Visa and Mastercard, we can help guide operators towards best practice.   We have some great risk portfolio managers at Ecommpay. But any good risk analyst will tell you that it’s neither possible nor desirable to reduce risk exposure to zero.   What happens if we have another pandemic, a tsunami or an Icelandic volcano erupts? We need to be adaptable and work together with a full understanding of how operators do business and treat their customers.   Getting paid is essential for every business, so what are the main payment pain points for travel operators currently, and how do they overcome them?   Converting sales is the #1 pain point, as it is for almost every sector. Macro-economic factors are contributing to market fluctuations and a decline in purchasing power. But small tweaks to checkout UX can realise big conversion gains.   Cards are a popular way to make online payments. But they’re not universally popular. Mostly because there’s no universal way to pay.   Giving your customers more choice in how they pay helps boost conversion, especially as almost three-quarters (71%) of consumers say they would be ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ likely to abandon their checkout and shop elsewhere if their preferred payment method wasn’t available.   I’d advise looking into Google Pay and Apple Pay. We all use our smartphones to pay in shops, and many people no longer carry a wallet. The ‘Pays’ work in a similar way for e-commerce sales as they do in-person. Cards loaded into these digital wallets are pre-authorized, so it side-steps some online checkout friction, thus boosting conversion.   Open Banking is another exciting payment method gaining traction in the UK and Europe. It securely connects customers to their bank during checkout, so they can pay directly from their account. For operators, this helps lower payment costs, as typical card fees and chargebacks are not present, plus speeds up settlement.   There’s also buy-now-pay-later, or BNPL for short. Ecommpay a tailored BNPL product for UK travel businesses, who can offer their customers the option to pay in instalments, pay in 30 days or pay over time options at checkout. This gives customers the chance to spread out what’s typically a larger purchase. And it helps convert more sales for travel operators.   Finally, what should a travel operator look for when choosing a payment service provider?   My advice is to pick a payments partner who’s a specialist in your sector. Someone who really understands the ins and outs of your business and industry. Next, look at their people. You want someone human, who will be understanding of your situation and answer the phone when things go wrong.   But also, don’t be afraid to ask more from partners. If you’re not getting the service you need, ask them why. If they can’t do it and it’s something you really need, then you have your answer. If they’re not prepared to, then maybe it’s time to review your situation.

  Ecommpay, a leading international Payment Service Provider and UK and European direct bank card Acquirer, is gearing up for a remarkable debut at the Merchant Payments Ecosystem (MPE) event, taking place from March 12-14, 2024, in Berlin. Ecommpay will present their proprietary full-stack payment solution tailored to the online retail sector addressing the specific needs and pain points of these merchants.   As e-commerce continues to thrive in Europe, online merchants face escalating challenges. Recent statistics reveal heightened e-commerce fraud in Germany and France, where up to two-thirds of online retailers report a substantial increase.   Additionally, cart abandonment remains a pressing issue, with a striking 70% average of shoppers across Europe leaving their carts before checkout. Ecommpay’s own research highlights the need for innovative solutions across industries, with almost three quarters of consumers surveyed stating that digital payment service experiences could be improved. Notably, businesses involved in the research also expressed difficulties with keeping up with new payment trends and matching consumer expectations.   Ecommpay's strategic entrance at MPE 2024 aims to help merchants tackle these and other challenges head-on. Contributing to the overarching theme of payment innovation at MPE, Ecommpay will spotlight a diverse range of products designed to help businesses reduce time to revenue, combat payment fraud, and ensure a best-in-class checkout experience for customers worldwide.   The showcase includes a myriad of hero products encompassing over 100 Alternative Payment Methods including BNPL, a full-suite of Open Banking products with a unique card payment and Open Banking transaction orchestration platform, award-winning fraud prevention tools and risk-control systems, and much more. As Ecommpay prepares to present their comprehensive suite of solutions and their capabilities, the company is thrilled to also be shortlisted at the MPE Awards for their Open Banking Advanced offering.   Ecommpay is a Payment Service Provider, Principal Member of Visa and Mastercard, and a Mastercard MoneySend and Visa Direct certified partner. The company’s diverse payment service portfolio and global coverage enables it to support fast and flexible payments, as well as individual and mass payouts, in 70 countries and 40 currencies.   Ecommpay is committed to partnering with businesses to offer a comprehensive arsenal of tools, each tailored to the needs of individual e-commerce merchants to enhance their success in the dynamic world of e-commerce.   Looking forward to Ecommpay’s participation at MPE, Karan Johal, Global Head of Sales at Ecommpay, says: "Our debut of the full-stack e-commerce solution at MPE 2024 marks a significant stride for Ecommpay. We're thrilled to showcase a suite of integrated products addressing the evolving needs of online merchants. From card acquiring to advanced Open Banking solutions, Ecommpay is committed to providing a seamless and secure payment experience."   Book a personal consultation at MPE 2024 to meet with Ecommpay’s payment experts and chart the course to enhanced revenue through streamlined payment processing.

  Ecommpay, a leading international payment service provider and UK and European direct bank card acquirer, has been shortlisted at the prestigious Merchant Payments Ecosystem (MPE) Awards in the Best Use of Open Banking for Payments category.   Ecommpay has been nominated for Open Banking Advanced, a proprietary product that exceeds standard account-to-account payment limitations. The solution notably increases checkout conversion rates to 92%+ for existing e-commerce clients and lowers reconciliation and refund times by 60%.   Open Banking offers a faster, simpler and safer way for customers to pay, with the Ecommpay’s solution offering 85%+ coverage of local banks in the EU and UK via a single integration.   Open Banking Advanced by Ecommpay combines pay-ins and payouts, a dedicated sub-account, funds aggregation, payment confirmation and automatic reconciliation. The solution enables easy management of funds from multiple sources, disbursement of payments and transaction tracking, thus meeting complex banking requirements.   The company has seen growing demand for Open Banking or pay-by-bank payments, which goes hand-in-hand with the goals of online businesses to expand, decrease payment fees and improve efficiency. Ecommpay's turnover has benefited from Open Banking Advanced, with figures showing a notable increase in 2022 and 2023. The average year-on-year growth rate is around 120%.   Head of Financial Partnerships, Arthur Ribakovs, commented:   "Ecommpay is thrilled to be nominated for an award by the Merchant Payments Ecosystem, proving that our Open Banking solutions are setting new standards and staying ahead of industry trends. By developing and perfecting innovative in-house built payment solutions such as our Open Banking Advanced, Ecommpay not only addresses the evolving needs of merchants but has also significantly transformed end-user payment experiences."   In a market inundated with financial solutions, Open Banking by Ecommpay stands out as a catalyst for operational efficiency and client satisfaction, and represents a significant shift in payment preferences.   The company’s unrivalled Open Banking ecosystem contains a full suite of user-centric, secure solutions, each with purpose-built capabilities to address specific business needs:  

• Account2Account for small businesses looking to move away from traditional manual bank transfers to modern A2A payments and benefit from Open Banking functionality and features — including time savings via descriptor automation and broadened coverage due to a consistently growing number of bank integrations.
• Open Banking Advanced for medium and large companies requiring extended capabilities, such as diversifying revenue streams and entering new markets.
• Open Banking Select for medium and large companies, featuring integrations with top-tier Open Banking providers, with Token leading the way, as well as Neopay. Merchants with pre-existing partnerships can unify their payment flows by adding their current and preferred Open Banking providers to their existing payment ecosystem, subject to Ecommpay’s rigorous criteria.

  Ecommpay’s payment experts will be speaking and exhibiting at the Merchant Payments Ecosystem 2024, Berlin, March 12-14, helping businesses maximise their potential and grow in new markets.   Book a personal consultation at MPE 2024 to reduce time to revenue, banish payment fraud and ensure a best-in-class checkout experience for customers worldwide.

  Ecommpay, a leading international payment service provider and UK and European direct bank card acquirer, now offers local acquiring in the US, enabling UK and EU merchants the ability to expand into North America. Additionally, Ecommpay will offer protection from fraud-related chargebacks to ensure merchants do not lose valuable time and money when those chargebacks occur.   Cross-border payments are set to reach $250 trillion globally by 2027, with the US being a key market player. However, 3-D Secure (3DS) payments, which provide extra fraud protection for merchants, consumers and card issuers, remain optional in the US. In contrast, UK and European regulations have made 3DS mandatory to protect all parties.   Based on Ecommpay data, It is estimated that the lack of 3DS validation results in fraud-related chargebacks, which in turn result in a loss of up to 30% of sales in the US, increasing the rate of chargebacks affecting merchants.   Ecommpay data also indicates that merchants lose 1.7% of their business turnover due to chargebacks from the US market. With Ecommpay’s protection, this is reduced to 0.5%.   To protect its merchants and encourage better industry practice, Ecommpay now offers local acquiring for the US market with its fraud prevention and risk management solution, adding its own protection from all fraud-related chargebacks. This will secure merchants from the risks of low sales, chargeback arbitration fees (up to $500 per case), increased operational expenses, and potential time lost. Through this insurance offering, Ecommpay will cover all merchant expenses with only a small additional fee attached to each transaction.   For example, a merchant generating sales of over $9,000,000 in the first six months of 2023 would have a chargeback rate of around 4.3% or $387,574. However, with Ecommpay’s chargeback protection, the merchant would be able to save approximately $342,574, or 3.8%, on their overall turnover.   Olga Karablina, Head of Payment Product Development at Ecommpay comments:

“Providing the best, most secure options for our merchants is key when expanding our local acquiring reach. This move is part of our broader strategy to protect our merchants profits and put in place new measures that encourage long-term growth.

  This is not without its challenges. Mitigating the conversion issues when it comes to cross-border payments for our merchants has been tricky, but with our insurance for fraud-related chargebacks and our local acquiring abilities, we continue to set the benchmark within the payment’s industry.   By understanding local markets and the interests of our merchants and customers, we remain on track to expanding Ecommpay’s presence to more and more international markets. Today’s announcement is a reflection of this commitment, helping UK and European merchants expand as we have already demonstrated in LATAM, Asia, South Africa and the Middle East.”