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How to create a seamless airline payment experience using payment orchestration

Providing customers with a seamless airline payment experience is essential in the competitive and fast-paced airline industry. Purchasing flight tickets should be straightforward and hassle-free, ensuring passenger satisfaction from start to finish. But, surprisingly, more than 10% of customers who abandon a travel purchase attribute their decision to payment-related issues.

Payment Orchestration delivers a comprehensive payment solution for airline merchants by consolidating different payment methods into one unified platform. As such, Payment Orchestration ensures a secure and reliable payment process that enhances the overall customer journey.

In this article, we’ll explore the vital importance of a seamless airline payment experience and delve further into the concept of Payment Orchestration.

Streamlining payment processes

With a high volume of flight bookings and ticket purchases being made through airlines daily, a streamlined payment process is essential to ensure smooth operations and customer satisfaction.

A quick integration of new payment methods

Worldwide digitisation has transformed how people pay for goods and services, and the airline industry is no exception. For example, research has revealed that 84% of travellers today prefer non-cash payment methods, such as contactless or mobile payments.

To keep up with evolving customer expectations, airline merchants must be able to quickly and seamlessly integrate new payment methods into their existing systems. Payment Orchestration allows airlines to offer a wide range of payment options and manage them from one centralised platform without requiring multiple integrations.

Improving the customer payment journey and experience

Research by the global aviation analytics firm Cirium has shed light on the need for improving payment systems and enhancing the customer payment journey. The study found that 66% of respondents expressed a desire to focus on improving the overall payment experience for customers.

Payment Orchestration enhances the customer payment experience by providing a frictionless and user-friendly checkout process which the customer can personalise to their individual needs.

Ensuring consistency across different channels

In today's digital landscape, customers expect a seamless airline payment experience regardless of the channel they use. Whether booking through a website, mobile app, or even in-person at an airport kiosk, the payment process should be simple, smooth and consistent.

Ensuring a seamless payment experience across different channels is vital to avoid customer frustration and increase conversion rates. Payment Orchestration platforms feature responsive payment interfaces that are optimised for mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets. This mobile-friendliness enhances convenience and accessibility, especially for customers who prefer to make payments on the go.

Lowering the costs of cross-border transactions

Cross-border transactions pose several challenges for airlines, including losses incurred due to foreign exchange fluctuations.

Travellers often face additional fees and unfavourable exchange rates, resulting in unexpected charges on their bank statements and potential chargebacks. On the other hand, airlines can suffer losses due to the difference between the exchange rate at the transaction initiation and settlement. This variance can significantly impact an airline's profitability, especially with a high volume of transactions.

Payment Orchestration platforms offer a solution through multi-currency processing (MCP). MCP allows travellers to convert the purchase price into their preferred currency at the time of payment, providing transparency and eliminating surprises.

Real-time payment (RTP) mechanisms further enhance the process by ensuring immediate transaction clearance and enabling payments to be initiated at any time, ensuring both travellers and airlines benefit from the most up-to-date exchange rates.

By leveraging Payment Orchestration, airlines can significantly reduce losses on foreign exchange, avoid discrepancies caused by currency fluctuations, and improve the overall profitability of cross-border transactions.

Enhancing security, reducing fraud and chargebacks

Fraud and chargebacks present significant risks to the airline industry, with airlines losing an estimated £1 billion annually to fraudulent activities, according to IATA. These threats result in financial losses and potentially damage the trust and reputation of airlines amongst their customers.

Payment Orchestration platforms, such as Cellpoint Digital, are crucial in combating fraud and chargebacks by implementing advanced security measures such as sophisticated fraud detection tools and technologies. Payment Orchestration systems analyse various data points, including transaction patterns, user behaviour, and device information, to identify and prevent real-time fraudulent activities.

By integrating intelligent fraud detection measures into the payment process, airlines can proactively identify and block suspicious transactions, ensuring secure and seamless airline payment experiences. Additionally, effective chargeback management processes, such as those offered by CellPoint Digital, can help minimise revenue loss by streamlining dispute resolution and reducing the impact of chargebacks.

Deliver a seamless airline payment experience with CellPoint Digital

Partnering with a trusted and reliable Payment Orchestration provider is crucial for airline merchants. With our expertise and advanced technology, CellPoint Digital ensures an efficient and seamless airline payment experience.

By choosing CellPoint Digital as your partner, you’ll benefit from our industry-specific solutions that cater to the unique needs of the airline industry. If you want to provide an exceptional customer experience in your payment operations while having peace of mind.

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