The travel and Tourism Industry is one of the biggest and fastest growing industries, and India is still witnessing constant interest of people preferring to spend a quantity of time on travel. This gives travel and tourism-related businesses an enormous opportunity to cater to the emerging needs and demands of customers. Payment Gateway for the tourism industry needs to be chosen wisely while taking care of essential points such as security and multiple modes of payment that can provide payment flexibility to the travelling partners. People travel for many reasons, with a few being globetrotters, expatriates, pilgrims etc, however, there are many more reasons for domestic as well as international travel. According to WTTC, India’s travel and tourism GDP is expected to grow at the CAGR 7-9 % of the total economy i.e., almost ₹33.8 trillion.

However, Covid induced lockdown had brought a halt to the travelling business worldwide. Albeit the restrictions had been lifted in due time and the industry has again caught up with the pace. Proving that nothing can discourage the excursionist on the face of the earth for a longer period. As a travel agency or company, it is important to have an online payment system for your business since business operations have changed from offline to online or semi-online.

Features of a Reliable Payment Gateway

The FinTech landscape is brimming with a plethora of payment gateways, each with more technologically advanced features. But before selecting the payment gateway for your business, it is imperative to decipher the business’s requirements and the customers’ nature. Here are some features that must be considered while evaluating a payment gateway for your needs:

Why is Payment Gateway Important for Your Travel Business?

Payment gateways are crucial to the success of any business, as they enable merchants to accept online and in-person payments. However, choosing the right payment gateway can be a challenge because of several factors, such as pricing, transaction fees, features, and inclusions. However, the following are the features of a payment gateway that can help the travel business to flourish.

1. Multiple Payment Methods: A well-integrated payment gateway can make the payment processes easy for travel businesses offering a smooth and secure transaction path. With an easy-to-use interface, the 24×7 payment platform enables guests to book hotels and buy tickets in a few clicks from anywhere with their preferred mode of payment.

2. Convenience and Ease: Payment Gateways allow customers to make payments from the convenience of anywhere, contributing to a paperless and cashless economy. When all businesses are straddling between online and offline modes, a payment gateway makes it easier for businesses to manage transactions and render thorough insights and analysis reports.

3. Increased Revenues for Business: When customers are offered flexibility of payment with more ways to transfer funds, they tend to develop a trust factor in the merchant and the brand. This eventually helps in attracting new customers and customer retention. Making payments while travelling can be a challenge. If customers/ guests are not given multiple payment options, the payment might get delayed, hampering the cash flow of the business.

4. Security: Security is an essential aspect of payment gateways, as they deal with sensitive financial data, and any compromise can potentially lead to fraud, data breaches, and damage to the reputation of the company. To ensure the security infrastructure, primary steps, such as encryption, tokenization, two-factor authentication, and fraud detection mechanisms are implemented. A reliable payment gateway complies with security standards set by the regulatory bodies. Reduced risk leads to reduced chargeback as the payments are processed securely in the least time possible.

5. Integration: Payment gateway integration ensures that the payment process is seamless and transparent to the customer and the merchants. While selecting a payment gateway, it is essential to focus on compatibility with the existing website for a smoother transaction procedure. It is imperative to choose a payment gateway for your travel business, that offers ready-to-go plugins and device agnosticism for a smooth booking experience, which will enhance customer experience and reduces the churn rate of business.

How Can Pay10 Payment Gateway Help Boosting Travel Business?

Pay10 is a reliable payment gateway for travel businesses, certified by top-of-the-line industry standards such as PCI DSS, SAR (PAPG & Data localization) and VSCC. Yet another important factor to consider before finalising a digital payment platform in India is the robust security infrastructure. The device-agnostic payment platform is easy to integrate and comes with ready-to-use plugins, so the merchants can link their websites with the least technical knowledge. The pay10 payment platform enables merchants to evolve their payment process and enhance the growth of their business with its dynamic dashboard.