Give Wings to Your Travel Business with the Right Payment Gateway

Ever since the pandemic eased out, more and more people have booked tickets to travel abroad, and most of these tickets were booked online. While tourism in the Middle East fell by 73% at the height of Covid-19, it recovered quickly and is expected to see a rise of more than 100% in 2022. Modern infrastructure blended with natural beauty, mesmerizing beaches, historial significance and tons of entertainment options is what attracts tourists the most. With middle eastern countries hosting numerous sporting events like the ICC World T20 tournament and the Fifa World Cup 2022, the number of people booking tickets online will increase exponentially. In fact, nearly 3 million people are expected to arrive in Qatar for the Fifa World Cup alone.

If you’re a travel agency trying to get back on your feet after the pandemic or are just starting out to attract customers, you should know the importance of payment gateways and accepting payments online from customers. Not only does it make life easier for customers, but it also ensures that transactions are completely safe and secure. While payment gateways are important for your travel business, choosing the correct one is also crucial.

In this article, we’ll list some points you can consider when selecting a payment gateway for your travel agency. It is important to understand that several vendors exist, and not every payment portal might suit your business needs and aspirations.

Tips for Choosing the Best Payment Gateway for Your Travel Business

Customer Service

One of the most important and basic features your payment gateway needs to have is efficient customer service. Travel agencies deal with customers from around the world, and they can face many different issues regarding payments, refunds, and more. Coherent customer service becomes necessary so that customers’ issues can be resolved promptly and effectively. Choose a payment gateway that is not only trustworthy but is available round the clock for your customers. They should also provide additional features like an active phone number that customers can contact for quick resolution and a working email address. There should also be support for handling queries online through the help of a chatbot or a voice bot.

Security

Your preferred payment gateway should be secure as well. Customers are always sceptical when transacting online and generally fear losing their money. Partnering up with a payment gateway that ensures safe and secure payments instils a sense of trust among the customers and gives them the confidence to not only do business with you but also come back in the future to do business with you again.

Look for payment gateways that offer bank-grade security features like PCI-DSS compliance, fraud detection, two-step verification, and more. Such features ensure that all your transactions are encrypted, safe, and protected from phishing or fraudulent activities. The fewer payment-related troubles you’ll experience, the more will be the faith of customers in your business.

Ease of Payments

Many of your potential customers leave the website if they don’t find their preferred mode of payment. You can lose a lot of business if your chosen payment gateway doesn’t allow customers to pay for products however they like. The best payment gateway for your travel business will accept payments in a number of different modes, currencies, and options. Along with providing different modes of payment, you need to ensure that paying for products on your platform is straightforward for even the least technically savvy person. Unnecessary complications and too many intermediary steps before a transaction are complete can trigger the customer to leave the payment mid-way and search for a competitor. 

Cost

The next most significant factor you need to consider while choosing a payment gateway for your travel business is how much it will cost you upfront and in the long run. It’s important to understand that payment portals will incur costs in different areas, including the set-up fee, charge for every transaction, and an annual maintenance charge. If you’re a small travel agency or are just setting up your business, it becomes all the more important to analyse your budget and how much you can afford to spend on a new-age payment gateway.

Examine the volume of transactions your business experiences on a daily basis and estimate future trends. If your transaction volume is considerably high, choosing a payment gateway with a higher transaction fee and annual charge might not fit your budget. Similarly, if the transaction volume is low, you can look at some competitive pricing and still be profitable. However, it is vital to have a payment gateway in place in 2023, no matter what it costs, due to its high ROI in the long run.

Timely Payouts

Maintaining cash flow in your business is essential to ensure you don’t run out of funds when needed. Customers can book tickets and pay for services on the same day, but if it takes a lot of time to reach your bank account, then you have some deliberation to do about your payment gateway. While a three-day wait is considered typical for business payouts, anything more than that should be a reason for concern. If your payment partner takes more than three days or even a week to pay you back, it can cause serious cash flow issues, especially when customers ask for refunds or cancel their booking. Choose a payment partner that doesn’t have a history of delayed settlements and goes through with their payments at regular intervals.

Conclusion

An increase in the number of people opting for booking tickets online should be an indication of how important a payment gateway can be for your travel business. Apart from just booking tickets, it will prevent any fraudulent activities from happening with you or your consumer, provide complete visibility on the transactions, and help you increase your business. PayTabs is an excellent payment partner for your travel business. With decades of combined experience among the team and several clients under their belt, PayTabs is one of the best payment gateways for any business.