Digital Payments Reduce Travel Industry Turbulence

There’s nothing simple about travel, especially from a payments POV. But there should be.

“Simplicity in travel, the more they can go hand-in-hand, the better that is for everyone,” Kristian Gjerding, CEO at CellPoint Digital, told PYMNTS during a discussion for the What’s Next in Payments series, “Business Simplicity: The New KPI.”

According to Gjerding, one of the primary pain points for travelers is a fractured, cumbersome user experience where consumers frequently face issues such as losing seat reservations or encountering checkout errors.

“It’s having a complex and broken user experience in trying to complete the purchase,” he said, noting the frustrations travelers often encounter with interrupted transactions, fluctuating prices and limited payment options.

Against this backdrop, simplifying the travel experience is becoming synonymous with streamlined payment solutions as travelers increasingly seek convenience and security from booking to checkout. For the modern traveler, every stage of a journey — from reserving flights to paying for a coffee on arrival — benefits from smooth, integrated payment experiences that eliminate friction.

But for travel merchants such airlines, hotels and others in the hospitality sector, the challenge is even greater, Gjerding said. These companies face high operational costs, technical hurdles and limited resources. For travel stakeholders, managing payments is not just about processing transactions; it’s about navigating an intricate ecosystem of gateways, fraud detection services, currency exchanges and reconciliation processes.

That’s why, in a competitive market where travelers expect seamless interactions, travel businesses are increasingly focusing on payments as a cornerstone of service improvement.

Pain Points for Travelers and Merchants

The complexity of travel payments underscores the need for simplicity, a KPI that Gjerding believes is essential for CellPoint Digital’s own clients’ success. With advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the payments industry is increasingly equipped to deliver this simplicity. “These new technologies are going to drive simplicity, particularly in the user journey,” Gjerding said. He said AI enables travel companies to better manage everything from reservations to security clearances to payment processing.

As part of this evolution, the new frontier involves shifting from “siloed” systems toward comprehensive platforms like CellPoint Digital’s that can manage multiple services in a unified environment. “This is a natural progression from bespoke solutions to a best-of-breed platform,” Gjerding said, as companies now require integrated solutions to address an increasingly complex array of digital and operational needs.

After all, throughout its history, the travel industry has been a pioneer in embracing innovation.

“In the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, [the industry] structured a pretty sophisticated way to sell inventory,” Gjerding said, emphasizing that the sector’s digital evolution continued with the advent of online travel booking. As mobile technology permeates every aspect of life, travel companies now require integrated solutions to address an increasingly complex array of digital and operational needs.

Payments Orchestration Smooths Transactions

Simplifying the travel experience ultimately starts with seamless, intelligent payment solutions that meet the needs of a diverse, global customer base.

CellPoint Digital itself addresses existing pain points through its payment orchestration platform. Payments orchestration platforms allow travel providers to offer multiple payment options in a single, cohesive system, enabling customers to book flights, accommodations and add-ons through one unified checkout.

Gjerding likened payment orchestration to the integrated IT systems that transformed corporate operations decades ago, simplifying the many isolated components of a company’s payment processing needs.

“We started out with acquirers and PSPs [Payment Service Providers],” he said, explaining the evolution of the industry from simple credit card payments to today’s multidimensional, global landscape of alternative payment methods, fraud prevention and cross-border reconciliation.

By automating the routing of transactions to the most efficient processor, these orchestration platforms help minimize transaction fees, reduce payment failures, and deliver a seamless experience that keeps customers engaged.

This “helps travel merchants select the best route or provider,” Gjerding said, delivering cost savings and boosting conversion rates by ensuring payments succeed, even in the face of technical obstacles. CellPoint Digitals’ own platform allows merchants to reroute failed transactions due to technical issues, ensuring payment continuity even if one provider fails. This flexibility enhances the customer experience, reducing frustration and supporting seamless, reliable transactions.

Looking ahead, Gjerding says a major focus for CellPoint Digital is the adoption of the “offer-order” approach. He sees the future of travel involving a shift toward integrated systems that can handle diverse functions — from offer and order management to complex, multi-vendor transactions — in a single platform, one where customers can “mix and match products” from different providers in a seamless, Amazon-like shopping experience.

By consolidating everything from airfare to in-flight meals, companies can simplify the booking process for customers while gaining efficiencies in operations and payment management.

Gjerding believes that simplifying processes is a critical step toward delivering more reliable service to end users in travel.