Travel Payment Solutions

Fintech’s next big opportunity is hiding in plain sight. And it might be a 100-million strong active customer base. Here’s the case behind the numbers. • 8% of the global population - around 659 million people - own cryptocurrency (Crypto Market Sizing Report).   • Travel is the top category for crypto spending, accounting for an estimated 15% share. Applied to total users, that’s a pool of roughly 100 million potential crypto-travellers.   • Major travel brands have already moved: Skyscanner (100mn+ users), Travala (2mn+ properties, 100+ cryptos), Destinia, airBaltic (first airline to accept Bitcoin), and Alternative Airlines now accept crypto.   • 77% of Travala bookings are paid in crypto (Sep 2024 figures).   • Yet, adoption remains uneven - 64% of crypto holders want to spend on travel, while only 25% of merchants accept it (2022 survey – Worldpay, Crypto for Payments). 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹? 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁: 1. Global reach – Borderless payments with no currency exchange or bank delays. 2. Faster, cheaper transactions – Instant settlement and lower fees with no intermediaries. 3. Fraud protection – Blockchain reduces chargebacks and payment fraud. 4. Crypto-native appeal – Attracts privacy-first, digital-savvy travellers. 5. 24/7 availability – Payments anytime, anywhere - no banking working hours needed. 6. Stability in volatility – A reliable alternative in countries with volatile local currencies. 7. Enhanced privacy – Minimal personal data is shared, lowering identity theft risks. 8. Brand differentiation – Accepting crypto signals innovation and helps stand out in a competitive travel market. So, how should travel industry players (agencies, airlines, booking platforms, etc.) choose a crypto payment solution? I looked at CoinsPaid, one of the market’s most recognized providers, to 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮: 1.     Easy setup and integration for different types of travel services (e.g. CoinsPaid has dedicated API and support). 2.     Support for major coins and stablecoins (e.g. CoinsPaid supports over 20 leading cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins like USDC). 3.     Automatic conversion from crypto to fiat, which simplifies accounting and reduces exposure to crypto volatility. 4.     Competitive pricing (e.g. CoinsPaid has no setup fees, no monthly fees, no hidden costs and only a transaction fee). 5.     Functionalities and tools like mass payouts, invoices and payment links. Crypto isn’t just a payment trend - it’s a rising expectation among a global, digital-first customer base. For travel brands, tapping into this multi-million user base is quickly becoming one of their key strategic alternative plays. Opinions: my own, Graphic source: CoinsPaid - https://lnkd.in/dThiPtMt

Payments Around the World: Singapore Edition! Small but mighty! Singapore is a wonderful place to be a tourist – especially for my fellow payments enthusiasts (and F1 fans)! Here are my top 5 observations…What did I miss? 1️⃣ Cards: Visa cards are everywhere – and the Visa brand leads the way. Singapore has very little cash left (only 4%!) with most locals carrying multiple cards. Singapore is even more carded than the U.S. As a tourist, I could easily tap my card anywhere… restaurants, local shops, markets, cafes, and transit (not to mention: the MRT transit is spotless & air conditioned!). 2️⃣ Super Apps: Singapore is certainly digital-first. There isn’t much you can't do with super apps Grab and Shopee, whether you’re ordering delivery, purchasing a last-minute umbrella during monsoon season, or hailing a rideshare to explore different neighborhoods. 3️⃣ Mobile Wallets: Many of these same Super Apps are also go-to ways of paying for local Singaporeans and international tourists alike. After adding my US-issued Visa card to GrabPay’s digital wallet, I could navigate the city with ease. Other popular local wallets include PayLah! and ShopeePay. I was told by my Singaporean colleagues that locals thrive on rewards and loyalty programs – so the perks in these wallets are a big reason for their use. 4️⃣ QR: If you venture into one of Singapore’s famous Hawker Centers (I went to Lau Pa Sat) for some Hainanese chicken, then alongside card acceptance, you will also see lot of QR codes. SGQR is the interoperable QR standard that can be used for local wallets as well as international wallets like Alipay (China), UPI (India) or DuitNow (Malaysia). Locals move seamlessly between payment methods (often based on loyalty offers). 5️⃣ Innovation Everywhere: New technology is part of everyday life in Singapore – which is why Visa selected Singapore as its Asia Pacific regional hub. I paid for my mid-morning coffee with my palm (thanks to Visa’s Pay by Palm). I used card and QR in food markets for an incredible lunch. I visited the Hyundai Innovation Center and EV Smart Factory (and drove on their rooftop racetrack in the sky). And, I experienced ample payments activity and innovation, including Grab, Paylah!, Shopee, Kris+, Favepay, PayNow, NETS, SGQR, and more. [BONUS] F1: I know it isn’t payments related, but the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend was awesome! One-of-a-kind! Night race! Tight street course! Crazy hot and humid! Iconic city scape backdrop. Had to share some pics. [BONUS] Art, Architecture, & Food: I explored the Botanical Gardens, took in the city views from atop the Marina Bay Sands, ate incredible food from laksa to kaya toast (I even mustered the courage to taste durian). Every experience deepened my appreciation for Singapore’s rich culture. Awesome! 

Crypto in travel is much more than innovation, it’s damage control. If you're still calling this a "trend," you're not paying attention. The most broken parts of Web2 finance? Travel feels them first. The travel industry is undergoing a transformation, with crypto payments emerging as a significant option. Companies like AirBaltic, Travala, and CheapAir are leading the way, accepting various cryptos for bookings. A recent report from CoinsPaid highlights a significant shift: Around 11.5% of travel agencies now accept cryptocurrency payments, the highest adoption rate among surveyed sectors. This trend is showing that companies are looking at crypto for much more than just “convenience”, they are seeking ways to reshape the travel industry's financial landscape. Here are my 5 Key Takeaways from the report: ▪️ Rapid Adoption: Travel agencies lead in crypto payment adoption, with 11.5% integrating digital assets into their payment systems. ▪️ Payment flexibility: 89% of travellers would choose one airline over another if given the option to pay in their preferred currency, indicating a strong demand for flexible payment methods. ▪️ Cost Efficiency: Traditional payment methods often involve high transaction fees and delays. Crypto, specially stable coins, transactions can reduce these costs significantly, offering faster and more economical alternatives. ▪️ Competitive Advantage: Early adopters of crypto payments position themselves as innovative and customer-centric, potentially attracting a broader clientele and setting themselves apart in a competitive market. ▪️ Market Expansion: Accepting crypto payments allows travel industry companies including Airlines & Private Aviation, Train & Bus Travel, Luxury Cruise Companies, Travel Agencies & Booking Platforms to cater to a broader, tech-savvy audience, opening doors to new market segments. Most businesses think accepting crypto comes with complexity or risk. But in this case, there’s no upfront cost, no monthly commitment, and no surprise fees, just a simple transaction fee when a payment happens. More importantly, there’s no exposure to volatility as the business always receives the exact fiat amount for the product or service, regardless of what currency the customer pays in. The conversion happens instantly behind the scenes. It’s a way to open the door to a new customer base without taking on new risks. As the travel industry embraces crypto, how are you adapting your business strategies to meet this evolving demand? LFGrow ❤️🔥 #RightClickSaveAs

How to approach digital wallet selection and implementation First things first: to decide on wallets, a travel business must be a merchant of record — an entity authorized to process transactions. Many companies in the tourism sector prefer to outsource this role: They just forward the cardholder data to suppliers and wait for commissions to be paid. Called an agent model, this scenario deprives you of control over your money and, subsequently, of the ability to make any choices regarding payment methods. Adopting a merchant model, on the other hand, empowers you to manage financial processes at your own discretion. If you’re already a merchant of record, you most likely partner with one of the popular payment gateways. So, it’s the right place to start your digital wallet journey. Check which digital wallets are available with your current payment gateway Popular payment gateways are commonly pre-integrated with several global payment wallets and local options. The setup process depends on a particular method — sometimes, you can get started in minutes. Gateway providers give detailed information on how to activate a wallet or offer you assistance from their tech support. Note that the same wallet can have different coverage across payment gateways. For example, PayPal integration with Apple Pay is available in the US only. Decide on the list of direct integrations Probably, your payment gateway doesn’t support all wallets you want to employ. That means you’ll have to build a separate connection. As a rule, wallet apps come with detailed API documentation that simplifies the integration. But anyway, it requires making an agreement with a wallet provider and involving developers to add the solution to your platform. To save you time and effort, carefully choose options to integrate with. Consider such factors as flexibility — whether it’s platform-specific or universal, the global number of users, penetration rate in your target region, payment methods supported, multi-currency options, security measures, fees charged per transaction, and compatibility with your platform. In most cases, the combination of global wallets and several local payment methods will guarantee the fullest coverage of your target market. For example, if you run your travel business in several European countries, it makes sense to add iDEAL for the Netherlands, Bancontact for Belgium, and Vipps MobilePay and Klarna for Scandinavia, while PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Wallet will satisfy everyone else. 👉 Subscribe for more insights https://lnkd.in/d94JgWBU Source Altexsoft #fintech #payments #wallets Leda Florian Alex Ali

Earlier this week, I got to experience firsthand how Mastercard is helping to shape the future of travel and urban mobility.   In Hong Kong, Mastercard has collaborated with MTR Corporation Limited 香港鐵路有限公司 to allow cardholders to use their contactless credit and debit cards at MTR entry/exit gates, making travel smoother and hassle-free. You simply tap your Mastercard or mobile device and go!   International visitors can also make contactless "Tap & Go" payments across Beijing's transit system using overseas-issued cards. Mastercard, supported by the People's Bank of China, the Beijing municipal government, and the city’s urban rail transit system was the first international payment brand to be integrated into China’s urban rail system. And soon, local cardholders will be able to use their new ‘China Mastercard’ cards to pay their fares too.   Both examples are a game-changer for tourists like me who prefer cashless, simple travel. It was fantastic to see Hong Kong and Beijing joining cities like London, New York, Amsterdam, Milan, Sydney, and Singapore in embracing these innovations.   But it's not just transit where Mastercard is leading the way. Mastercard is at the forefront of enhancing the experience for international visitors by integrating global cards with local digital platforms like Alipay and WeChat, simplifying the payment experience and boosting convenience. This enables personalized experiences, supports economic growth and helps make China more accessible to tourists.   Seamless payments, personalized services, and economic impact - Mastercard is shaping the future of travel and connecting the globe!   #ContactlessPayment #Innovation #Travel #Technology #Tourism Dennis Chang Helena Chen

How Does Dynamic Currency Conversion Work? 💡 💰 DCC provides cardholders with a convenient and immediate understanding of transaction costs in their home currency, though it might involve higher costs because of exchange rate markups and fees. For businesses and financial institutions, DCC offers a chance to earn additional revenue. Here’s how it works: The DCC process 💳 Card detection: When a customer uses a foreign credit or debit card at a business’s point-of-sale (POS) system or an ecommerce platform, the system identifies the card’s country of origin. 💰 DCC offer: The business’s system, equipped with DCC technology, automatically offers the cardholder the option to complete the transaction in their home currency. The amount includes the conversion rate and any additional fees involved in the conversion. ��♂️ Customer’s choice: The cardholder can accept the DCC offer and pay in their home currency or decline it and pay in the local currency. ✅ Transaction completion: If the customer chooses DCC, the transaction is processed, and the card is charged in the cardholder’s home currency using the displayed exchange rate. If the cardholder declines DCC, the transaction is processed in the local currency, and the cardholder’s bank will convert it using the bank’s exchange rate. Roles and benefits 👨💻 Businesses: Businesses benefit from DCC by earning additional revenue through commissions or fees associated with the currency conversion process. 🏦 Financial institutions: Banks or financial service providers that offer DCC set the exchange rates and fees. These rates often include a markup over the standard exchange rate. Technological integration ⏱️ Payment processing technology: DCC technology enables the automatic detection of foreign cards and real-time currency conversion, making DCC an easy option at POS systems and online. 👍 POS systems and ecommerce integration: DCC is integrated into modern POS systems and online payment gateways, letting businesses offer this service to international customers in store and online. For example, consider an American tourist in Italy who wants to buy an item that costs €100. The POS system recognizes the credit card as American and offers to charge $120 (which includes the DCC exchange rate and fees). The tourist can choose to pay $120, knowing the exact cost in their currency, or pay €100, leaving the conversion to their bank. Source: Stripe - https://shorturl.at/ozO6z #Innovation #Fintech #Banking #Ecommerce #Retail #FinancialServices #Cards #Payments #Currency #DCC #Issuing #Acquiring #Processing 

🇹🇭 Thailand to launch crypto payments for tourists in 4Q25 On Monday, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Pichai Chunhavajira unveiled the "TouristDigiPay" sandbox project, which will allow foreign tourists to use crypto to make Thai baht payments at merchants all over Thailand. TouristDigiPay will enable the conversion of crypto assets into baht via licensed digital asset operators regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand. The baht will then be transferred into an electronic wallet overseen by the Bank of Thailand, for use at local merchants, typically via QR code payments. Merchants will receive the payments in baht. In the sandbox phase, merchants who have completed a due diligence process will be able to accept up to THB 500,000 (USD 15,000) in payments each month. Smaller merchants will be limited to THB 50,000 (USD 1,500) per month. AML measures will also be implemented. If successful, TouristDigiPay is expected to boost tourism spending in Thailand by up to 10%, or THB 175bn (USD 5.4bn) each year. The pilot is expected to kick off in 4Q25, and will run for an initial period of 18 months. 📷 : Thai-style roast pork rice, or Khao Moo Daeng, from Khao Moo Daeng Si Morakot in Bangkok. Photo credit Wang Ying Jie (YJ)

🇮🇳💳 From Cash to QR: How India’s UPI Is Quietly Entering Japan 🇯🇵 For decades, Japan was known as a cash-first economy. India, on the other hand, became the global face of instant digital payments. Now, these two worlds are about to connect. Through a collaboration between NPCI International (India) and NTT DATA (Japan), UPI is being enabled in Japan for Indian travelers — allowing payments directly from Indian bank accounts, without cash or international cards. This isn’t just convenience. It’s financial diplomacy in action. 🔍 How Will UPI Actually Work in Japan? Here’s the technical flow — simple, secure, and familiar: 1️⃣ A Japanese merchant displays a UPI-compatible QR code 2️⃣ An Indian traveler scans it using PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM, etc. 3️⃣ Payment is authorized in real time from the Indian bank account 4️⃣ Currency conversion happens automatically in the backend 5️⃣ Merchant receives settlement via NTT DATA’s local payment infrastructure 👉 No forex cards 👉 No card swipe fees 👉 No carrying bundles of cash Just Scan. Pay. Done. 🇯🇵 How Japan Benefits ✔️ Boost in Indian tourism spending ✔️ Faster payments for merchants, especially in tourist-heavy areas ✔️ Lower dependency on cash handling ✔️ Seamless digital onboarding without forcing locals to change habits ✔️ Access to India’s 300+ million UPI users For Japan, UPI isn’t replacing its system — it’s adding a powerful global layer. 🇮🇳 How India Benefits ✔️ Global recognition of India’s fintech leadership ✔️ Strengthens India’s digital public infrastructure exports ✔️ Makes Indian travelers more confident abroad ✔️ Reduces dependency on Visa/Mastercard networks ✔️ Positions UPI as a global alternative, not just a domestic tool UPI is no longer “India’s success story” — It’s becoming India’s soft power. 🌍 Why This Matters Beyond Payments This move shows something bigger: 👉 India is exporting technology, trust, and scale 👉 Japan is adopting efficiency without disruption 👉 The future of payments may be country-to-country, not company-to-company Today it’s Japan. Tomorrow it could be South Korea, Europe, or the US. 🔥 Final Thought UPI started as a solution for small tea stalls and kirana shops. Now it’s preparing to work on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Is this the beginning of India defining how the world pays — not with cards, but with trust and code? 🇮🇳🌏 Follow Yash Sisodia for more 🌐 Special Mention: LinkedIn LinkedIn for Marketing LinkedIn News LinkedIn Learning LinkedIn News India LinkedIn Talent Solutions National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI) NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) PhonePe Paytm

🔥 Corporate travel isn’t consolidating — it’s converging. Perk’s rebrand (ex-TravelPerk) and its acquisition of Yokoy mark more than a name change — they mark a shift from travel management to T&E orchestration. For decades, the model was predictable: TMCs handled the trip. Expense tools handled the spend. Two systems. Two vendors. Two dashboards. One frustrated CFO. That era is ending. ⸻ 💥 The Great T&E Convergence The biggest players are redrawing the map fast: • Perk (ex-TravelPerk + Yokoy) → Combining travel and expense automation into a single hybrid platform — part owned, part open ecosystem. • Navan → Freshly listed on Wall Street, proving investors now view Travel + Expense as one connected category. • American Express Global Business Travel × SAP Concur – “Complete” → The enterprise alliance uniting booking, servicing, expense, payments and analytics in one workflow. • Serko (Zeno) → A native T&E platform, managing travel and expense in one interface — especially strong across APAC. • Spotnana → The tech infrastructure powering many of the next-gen players with an open, API-driven backbone. Different strategies, same destination: 👉 A single, unified flow of travel, spend, and data. ⸻ 💡 What’s really changing CFOs and procurement leaders no longer want two vendors arguing over the same trip. They want one accountable partner that connects every dollar — from booking to reimbursement. This isn’t travel tech anymore. It’s spend tech built around movement. And the competition isn’t over who books the trip — It’s over who owns the spend loop. ⸻ 🚀 The next 24 months We’ll see: ⚙️ TMCs turning into platform companies — or acquiring their way there. 💳 Expense players embedding travel, cards & payments natively. 🧠 AI powering policy, reconciliation & predictive budgets. 🌍 Finance, Procurement & Travel finally running on one shared dataset. ⸻ 👀 The question isn’t who integrates first — it’s who becomes indispensable. Because in the new world of corporate travel, who books the trip won’t matter. Who owns the journey — and the data — will. #Travel #Expense #TandE #CorporateTravel #FinOps #Procurement #Payments #AI #Leadership #Innovation #Navan #Perk #Yokoy #AmexGBT #SAPConcur #Spotnana #Serko

Digital Dirham is moving from concept to code - here’s why banks can’t afford to hit snooze (and why wallets could smell opportunity) The Central Bank of The UAE just confirmed a two-tier, intermediated model for their CBDC: it will mint the CBDC, while licensed financial institutions and SVF licensed fintechs run customer wallets My Translation? • Banks stay in the loop… • …but any wallet with the right licence can control the front-end relationship —————— Programmability + Limits → Payments, not deposits The Digital Dirham will be non-interest bearing with tiered holding caps and automatic “reverse-waterfall” top-ups from bank accounts when limits are breached (i.e surplus CBDC auto-sweeps back to your bank account). Which is great for P2P, QR and micro-txns; less great for parking savings Deposits are safer than many feared (CBUAE simulations suggest CBDC could take c.5% of broad money) but payment volumes could potentially migrate fast 💨. For daily spends such as your coffee, taxi, bills, the Dig Dirham’s instant, programmable nature will be superior to cards/cash; also Merchants may prefer it because fees will be close to 0️⃣; consumers will adopt if the checkout experience is frictionless —————— 4️⃣ live use-case pilots are already in-flight: ➖ tokenised real estate ➖ tourist wallets ➖ programmable social benefits ➖ parent/child sub-wallets Combine the above with UAE’s role in mBridge (multi-CBDC cross-border settlement) and you have potentially a regional payments shake-up in the making Digital Dirham might just turn out to be a once in a decade opening for telco & remittance wallets to move from “billpay & remittance app” to “national payment utility” but only if they out innovate banks on UX and ally with them on compliance. —————— Winners (if they act!): ✅ Agile banks that expose CBDC ready APIs, embed wallets in their apps and monetise compliance-as-a-service. Slow banks that wait for “clarity”—they’ll watch fees and customer data flow to nimbler rivals. ✅ Telco & super-app wallets that can bolt a Digital Dirham SDK onto existing UX ✅ Cross-border treasury desks ready for atomic FX via mBridge —————— What banks must do 🏦: ➖ Publish a developer portal for CBDC wallet APIs before fintechs partner with someone else ➖ Stress-test liquidity; even with caps, 3-5% of deposits could drift into Digital Dirham balances overnight ➖ Upgrade AML/analytics for on-chain transaction monitoring (a regulatory must have) Digital Dirham is not a fringe experiment - it’s programmable, retail-ready money that lets any licensed wallet ride centralbank rails. Banks that treat it as “just another payment rail” risk waking up as the utility backend while fintechs and telcos own the customer. Those that seize the distribution and compliance layers will bank new fee pools and be part of the team which writes the playbook for #futureoffinance in the UAE & GCC. #CBDC #DigitalDirham #Fintech #BankingTransformation #UAE