Trip.com and Checkout.com have formed a partnership to deploy local acquiring and digital card payment services across key international markets.
The agreement with Checkout.com will initially cover digital card payment services in the UK, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, with a phased rollout planned for North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
A central element of the partnership is Checkout.com's localised acquiring infrastructure, which Trip.com is deploying to improve payment acceptance rates and reduce operational costs in each target market. Local acquiring typically results in higher authorisation rates compared to cross-border processing, a key consideration for a platform handling transactions across diverse geographies.
Trip.com has already adopted Standalone 3DS, a method of applying Strong Customer Authentication independently from the payment authorisation process. This approach can improve authentication performance and security without adding friction to the booking flow. Looking ahead, the company plans to explore additional Checkout.com capabilities, including Vault for card data storage, Identity Verification, and issuing solutions.
Beyond card payments, both parties have indicated plans to integrate local payment methods such as e-wallets and bank transfers, addressing the varied preferences of consumers across the markets in which Trip.com operates.
Expansion context
The partnership reflects broader dynamics in the travel payments sector, where platforms serving international travellers must navigate a fragmented landscape of payment preferences, regulatory requirements, and currency considerations. Acceptance rate optimisation and localised payment methods have become increasingly relevant as travel platforms scale into markets with distinct payment infrastructure, such as Japan, where digital wallet usage is significant, and Saudi Arabia, where the payments ecosystem has evolved rapidly alongside wider economic development.
The agreement positions Checkout.com as a strategic payments infrastructure provider for Trip.com's growth phase, rather than a standard processing relationship. A company official at Trip.com Group noted that the flexibility to tailor payment strategy by market is a primary driver behind the selection of Checkout.com's modular technology.
