Blog

How airlines can simplify their reconciliation process with Payment Orchestration

The reconciliation process plays a vital role in payment operations, ensuring accuracy and financial transparency. However, for many businesses, manual reconciliation can be a burdensome and time-consuming task. On average, SMEs spend 3.6 hours per week reconciling payments manually, causing disruptions to cash flow and day-to-day operations.

What’s more, according to data from the 2025 Airline & Travel Payments report, airlines have been particularly plagued by lengthy and inefficient manual reconciliation processes. To overcome these challenges, Payment Orchestration emerges as a powerful solution. By automating the reconciliation process, Payment Orchestration platforms simplify and streamline this essential task, improving efficiency and saving valuable time.

In this article, we will delve into the concept of Payment Orchestration and explore the benefits of automated payment reconciliation for airlines seeking to simplify their reconciliation processes and enhance their financial operations.

Understanding reconciliation

Reconciliation is a crucial process in payment transactions that involves matching and comparing financial records to ensure accuracy and consistency. It also helps identify any discrepancies or errors in payment processing, such as duplicate payments, missing payments, or incorrect amounts. Essentially, the reconciliation process helps ensure that financial statements are correct and up-to-date at all times.

In the traditional manual reconciliation process, airline merchants would manually cross-reference payment data with internal records. However, manual reconciliation poses several challenges and limitations.

When payment reconciliation is performed manually (i.e., without the use of any automated software or tools), the process can be prone to human errors and time-consuming. Not only this, but it’s largely impractical for airlines that need to process a high volume of payments. It’s no wonder then why manual processes account for the biggest pain points in data reconciliation for almost a third (28%) of organisations.

Human errors can result in discrepancies and inaccuracies, leading to financial discrepancies and potential loss of revenue. Moreover, the manual effort required for reconciliation can be laborious and time-consuming, diverting resources from other important tasks. These challenges highlight the need for a more streamlined and efficient approach to reconciliation.

Payment Orchestration and reconciliation

By embracing Payment Orchestration and automated payment reconciliation, airlines can overcome the challenges posed by manual processes and streamline their financial operations effectively.

Payment Orchestration Platforms (POPs) automate reconciliation by seamlessly gathering transaction data from various payment service providers (PSPs) and matching them with corresponding payments. This eliminates the need for time-consuming and error-prone manual reconciliation, ensuring accuracy and reliability.

POPs also offer real-time monitoring capabilities, allowing airlines to track payment activity as it happens. This instant visibility helps identify discrepancies or errors promptly, enabling faster reconciliation.

The advantages of automated payment reconciliation are significant. Firstly, it enhances accuracy by reducing the risks associated with human error. Secondly, it improves speed, allowing airlines to access real-time reconciliation data. Lastly, automated payment reconciliation reduces operational costs by freeing up resources that would otherwise be spent on manual reconciliation tasks.

Reconciliation with other PSPs vs Payment Orchestration Platforms (POPs)

When comparing the reconciliation process with traditional Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to Payment Orchestration platforms (POPs), the benefits of POPs become evident. Unlike traditional PSPs, POPs streamline the reconciliation process by integrating with multiple PSPs and consolidating transaction data in a central platform.

With POPs, airlines no longer need to manually reconcile transactions across various PSPs, saving significant time and effort. The integration capabilities of POPs enable automatic aggregation of transaction data, providing a comprehensive view of payment activities in a single interface.

This efficiency and convenience of reconciliation through POPs greatly surpass the manual efforts required when dealing with traditional PSPs, allowing airlines to focus on core operations and improve overall productivity.

Simplify your reconciliation process with CellPoint Digital

CellPoint Digital is a trusted leader in Payment Orchestration, providing innovative solutions to simplify the reconciliation process for airlines. Our platform offers a range of features and capabilities designed to streamline reconciliation, such as automated transaction matching and comprehensive reporting.

Partnering with CellPoint Digital offers several benefits for efficient and streamlined reconciliation. Our platform ensures accuracy, reduces human errors, and saves valuable time and resources. With our expertise, airlines can enhance their financial management, improve operational efficiency, and future-proof them.

Contact us today to learn how CellPoint Digital can simplify your reconciliation process and optimise your payment operations.

Featured Blog posts

Blog 06 November 2024

How good CX boosts revenue for airlines

This article discusses the importance of good customer experience in payments for airlines and how payment orchestration can help them improve their CX.

Blog 22 October 2024

Why airlines are missing out on payment tech

Payment processing costs impact the bottom line of every full-service and low-cost carrier in the skies, so why are so many reluctant to switch vendors?

Blog 21 October 2024

How airlines are losing customers at checkout

Every airline merchant worth their salt knows the supreme importance of providing a good customer experience to those looking to buy a flight. This is doubl...