Repayd Joins Travel Trends Podcast as Season 8 Title Sponsor
❖ Why Travel Payments Deserve A Bigger Conversation
We’re delighted to welcome Repayd as the Title Sponsor of Season 8 of the Travel Trends Podcast.
Repayd is a specialist third-party Merchant of Record for travel, hospitality and aviation businesses. Its arrival comes at an important time for the industry. Payments may not always attract the same attention as distribution, technology or customer experience, but they are becoming one of the most important factors influencing travel growth.
International tourism receipts reached approximately US$1.6 trillion in 2024, while airlines are expected to generate more than US$1 trillion in revenue in 2026. However, behind those figures sits a complex payment environment shaped by multiple currencies, cross-border transactions, fragmented supplier chains and long periods between booking and travel.
For many travel companies, reaching customers in new markets is no longer the biggest challenge. The question is whether their payment infrastructure can convert that demand efficiently, protect the transaction and support growth without creating unnecessary financial or operational pressure.
Why Travel Payments
Are Different
Travel does not operate like conventional ecommerce.
A customer may pay for a holiday months before travelling. That booking could include flights, accommodation, transfers and experiences provided by different suppliers across several countries.
If one part of the booking is cancelled or cannot be delivered, the consequences can affect the entire transaction. Customers may request refunds or raise chargebacks, while the travel company may already have paid suppliers or committed the funds elsewhere.
This extended gap between payment and fulfilment is one reason travel businesses can face rolling reserves, delayed settlement, restrictive processing limits and increased scrutiny from payment providers.
There is also the issue of cross-border payment performance. A legitimate booking may be declined because the combination of the customer’s location, the merchant’s location, the currency and the transaction value creates an unfamiliar risk profile for the issuing bank.
Repayd points to industry research suggesting that just under 14% of travel payments fail. Not every failed transaction would have become a completed booking, but for businesses processing significant volumes, recovering even a relatively small proportion can represent meaningful additional revenue.
❖ Where A Third-Party Merchant Of Record Can Help
Every transaction already has a Merchant of Record. It is the entity responsible for accepting the customer’s payment as the seller of record and assuming the defined responsibilities associated with that transaction.
For many travel businesses, the important question is whether they should continue to perform that role themselves or use a specialist third-party Merchant of Record for some or all of their transactions.
A specialist third-party MoR can take responsibility for defined elements of acquiring, fraud, chargebacks, refunds, reconciliation and payment compliance. It can also help businesses accept payments across different markets and currencies without having to recreate their payment infrastructure in every new territory.
However, this should not be viewed as simply another way to process card payments. It is a wider operating-model decision that influences where risk, responsibility and control sit throughout the booking lifecycle.
A credible travel-focused MoR must understand the particular characteristics of the sector, including deposits, staged balances, long booking lead times, cancellations, supplier exposure and financial protection.
Repayd’s model brings together third-party Merchant of Record capability, global multi-currency acquiring and embedded financial protection, supported by specialist knowledge of travel, hospitality and aviation.
❖ The Opportunity Goes Beyond Accepting Payments
The potential value of a third-party MoR is not limited to gaining access to another payment provider.
The right structure can support better authorisation rates, reduce checkout friction, improve cash-flow predictability and help a business enter new markets more quickly. It can also create a clearer connection between booking, payment and settlement data.
This is particularly relevant for travel technology platforms. A platform may provide booking engines, supplier connectivity, distribution and customer-facing technology, while still requiring every travel business using it to secure its own merchant facilities.
That can delay onboarding and restrict the markets in which those businesses can operate.
Integrating a third-party MoR can make payment acceptance part of the platform’s wider proposition, subject to underwriting and the agreed commercial model. Instead of leaving each merchant to solve payments independently, the platform can offer a more complete infrastructure covering both the booking and the commercial transaction.
❖ It Doesn’t Have To Be All Or Nothing
The decision between remaining Merchant of Record and appointing a third party is not necessarily binary.
Some established travel companies may choose to retain direct acquiring in their strongest markets, where they already have effective infrastructure and attractive commercial terms. They may then use a specialist MoR for a new geography, brand, product or distribution channel.
This hybrid approach allows businesses to introduce third-party capability where it delivers the greatest value without replacing arrangements that already work well.
The right model will depend on the problem the business is trying to solve. That might be improving payment acceptance, reducing the effect of reserves, entering a new market, accelerating merchant onboarding or creating more resilient access to acquiring.
UNDERSTANDING
THE TRADE-OFFS
Using a third-party Merchant of Record does not remove every risk or responsibility.
Travel companies remain responsible for delivering the product, supporting their customers and complying with the regulations that apply to their role.
Before adopting any MoR structure, businesses need clarity about who contracts with the traveller, whose name appears on the customer’s statement, who manages refunds and disputes, when funds are released and what happens if a service is not delivered.
They should also understand how payment and customer data will be managed. Reporting needs to connect payments, refunds, chargebacks and settlements to the underlying booking in a format that finance, operations and customer-service teams can use.
These are not arguments against the model. They are the questions that need to be answered to implement it successfully.
❖ Starting The Conversation
Throughout Season 8, our partnership with Repayd will help us explore the changing role of payments in travel and what it means for growth, technology and the customer experience.
To begin, listen to our Company Spotlight episode, The Hidden Problem Costing Travel Companies Millions, with Repayd.
Dan is joined by Will Plummer, CEO of Repayd, to discuss why travel payments are uniquely complex, how Merchant of Record models work and where travel businesses may be losing revenue through failed payments, cross-border costs, FX and checkout friction.
They also explore the practical questions travel businesses should ask when reviewing their payment arrangements, from mapping the complete payment journey to understanding how customer funds are protected.
For anyone working in travel technology, international expansion, payment strategy or commercial operations, it is a valuable place to start