Tackle hidden payment charges to accelerate digital shift, suggests new Amadeus study

Amadeus has revealed in a new study that COVID-19 has accelerated digital payments by four years as 84% of travelers avoid cash.

According to the Amadeus Travel Payments Guide 2020, the COVID-19 environment has ushered in new traveller expectations. Therefore, whether it’s a desire for biometric self-service at the airport or a greater need for destination-specific health information, traveller demands are changing. The study was conducted in partnership with local payments infrastructure provider PPRO.

Accordingly, COVID-19 has accelerated a long-term trend away from physical cash payments, as 84% of respondents confirmed that they now pay with non-cash methods like contactless or mobile payments when travelling. Besides, 14% of respondents said that when contactless payment options are not available, they would abandon the purchase altogether rather than risk the physical contact required to pay with cash.

Furthermore, this shift to modern payment methods has led to an overall reduction in the use of cash to pay for on-trip services like food, beverages, and attractions of circa 6%. According to the IMF, cash use declines by 1.4% a year on average, suggesting we’ve seen four years’ worth of digital payment transformation in the past nine months.  

However, data suggests this trend could be temporary unless the travel industry can overcome historic problems associated with high and unclear fees when paying for travel. In fact, 55% of respondents agreed they plan to return to cash payments when the risk from COVID-19 has significantly reduced with ‘better clarity on charges’ and ‘cards being too expensive to use abroad’ as the most cited reasons.