A major source of friction in travel for consumers are financial transactions, so when expanding into new markets, merchants must carefully consider consumers’ preferred local payment methods. Neglecting regional payment preferences and expectations can lead to lost sales, poor checkout experiences, and overall customer dissatisfaction. The worst-case scenario is that a consumer abandons your checkout to use a competitor, which no ecommerce merchant wants!
Cross-border and cross-currency transactions can be incredibly complex, costs for hotels or airlines can be high, and the time gap between booking and travel can raise concerns for travellers. For us, the goal is to make it easy for anyone, anywhere in the world to pay for their travel or do business with the Booking.com platform when and how they want.
I recommend combining the following options when researching a new market:
Rely on your local teams if applicable. Your local teams are the voice of your consumers, and they can easily synthesise and articulate local expectations.
Travel to the market(s) and do your own field research to see how payments work in particular environments. Watch your local colleagues purchase something online to understand local payment journeys. It could very well be that something that may feel cumbersome or clunky to you is normal to local consumers.
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is interesting, as it largely skews towards younger consumers, considering it provides budgeting flexibility for high-ticket items. Younger Gen Z and Millennial consumers (especially in the US) don’t focus as much on elite status with an airline or hospitality group or boosting credit card points, but rather more about splitting large purchases and paying them off over time.
BNPL is one of the payment capabilities that we’re embedding into our platform, next to other capabilities like guest credit and wallet options, and preferred currency payments. This gives our partners opportunities to appeal to more travellers who may prefer these options. And with more flexibility, travellers can book with confidence.
Open Banking is still quite a nascent trend, but account-to-account-powered (A2A) transactions are gaining ground. I do expect to see more merchants incentivise users to adopt it to reduce overall costs, but there are still challenges to get consumer adoption, such as checkout friction. Furthermore, cardholders who are used to premium credit card perks, especially in the US, will need some form of persuasion to adopt a Pay by Bank-like solution. In the near future, I also see more and more adoption in the B2B space for Open Banking.
As the travel industry evolves, we will see artificial intelligence-powered (AI) services integrated more into the planning and booking experience. As travellers become more comfortable with this technology, their expectations will increase regarding its potential to simplify their lives.
Today, we’re already making strides in developing solutions that will enhance each stage of a customer’s trip – from smart search filters that help match a customer with their ‘perfect’ property, to chatbots that make it easy to find answers to specific questions, seamlessly connecting them to the property if needed. Looking further ahead, we envision this technology following our travellers through every step of their journey.
Bundled services outside of hotels and flights will also grow. Insurance is already normalised in the travel checkout experience, but booking and seeing your entire itinerary in one place – including car rentals, airport transfers, experiences, and luggage storage services, among others – will become the norm. This editorial piece was first published in The Paypers' Global Ecommerce Report 2025, which provides a complete overview of key trends and strategies to help businesses worldwide succeed. Download your free copy today to explore in-depth insights on global ecommerce trends, the latest innovations in payment solutions, and strategies to stay ahead in a competitive market.
Ajay is currently a Senior Manager in the Fintech Partnerships team at Booking.com. He has worked in commercial & product roles at both startups as well as larger fintechs for the past eleven years, such as Adyen & Klarna. He is based in Amsterdam and is originally from the United States.
Part of Booking Holdings Inc., Booking.com’s mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. By investing in the technology that helps take the friction out of travel, Booking.com’s marketplace seamlessly connects millions of travellers with memorable experiences every day. For more information, follow @bookingcom on social media or visit globalnews.booking.com.
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