Webinar recap: How poor payment experience is costing the travel industry high-intent bookings

 

In a recent panel co-hosted by The Paypers and Nuvei, industry experts shared how travel brands can convert more high-intent travelers by mastering payment optimisation.

This session is geared toward payment leaders, digital teams, and revenue strategists across travel and hospitality – anyone seeking to reduce abandonment and drive revenue through optimised payment experiences.

The discussion featured:

• Louis Wapler, Manager, Edgar, Dunn & Company
• Jacqueline Ulrich, Senior Vice President Commercial – Global Travel Strategy & Partners, Nuvei
• Mélisande Mual, Publisher and Managing Director at The Paypers
• Peny Rizou, Chief Fintech Officer, Etraveli Group; Head of EG Fintech Solutions

Their combined expertise provided a comprehensive view of travel payment challenges and actionable solutions, including:

1. How payment friction drives booking abandonment – and how to fix it
2. Why local payment methods are critical to global conversion
3. How currency, language, and page layout build trust at checkout
4. How leading airlines and OTAs can optimise payment experiences to increase revenue while mitigating fraud

The story, in short

Airlines and OTAs may be great at pulling in traffic, but too often the booking falls apart at the last hurdle: the payment page.

Nuvei`s 2025 research with Edgar, Dunn & Company shows how costly that friction is:

•    18% of travelers bail after a card decline.
•    13% don’t just give up – they head straight to a competitor.
•    5% will abandon their booking altogether after a card decline.
•    Nearly 60% won’t book if their go-to payment method isn’t there.

Some of those percentages may look small on paper, but in the travel business, they add up to millions in lost bookings every year. The good news? Much of that revenue is recoverable if brands localise their payment flows and actually meet travelers where they are.

Opening remarks

Mélisande Mual, Publisher of The Paypers, opened the session emphasising the critical role of the payment experience in the travel booking journey. Drawing on research from Nuvei and Edgar, Dunn & Company, covering 1,011 consumers across the UK, US, Brazil, Hong Kong, and Spain, she highlighted that more than half of travelers abandon bookings if their preferred payment method isn’t supported, a leak that equates to millions in lost revenue for airlines and online travel agencies (OTAs).

The currency conundrum: why display matters more than you think

The discussion revealed that a whopping 92% of surveyed travelers are sensitive to how prices are displayed. As Jacqueline pointed out, converting between widely used and familiar currencies such as USD, EUR, and GBP is typically straightforward for most travelers. However, when it comes to less commonly used currencies – like the Thai baht or Brazilian real, for instance – the process becomes more complicated. Travelers may face uncertainty over exchange rates, fees, or payment acceptance, which can create friction and even cause them to abandon a booking altogether.

Louis emphasised that travel purchases are high-value transactions where displaying the home currency builds trust and removes anxiety about hidden fees. He noted that proper currency display also serves as indirect price comparison support, helping customers avoid conversion mistakes when comparing options across multiple platforms.

Peny added crucial nuance to the discussion, distinguishing between display currency, charging currency, and settlement currency. She stressed that seamless customer experience requires alignment between what customers see and what they're actually charged. When this alignment breaks down, merchants face increased customer service calls and complaints about unexpected bank fees.

Local payment methods drive conversion

An interesting webinar poll revealed that missing local payment methods was identified as the primary reason for booking abandonment. This finding aligns with market trends showing the explosive growth of alternative payment methods (APMs) across different regions.

Peny shared Etraveli’s experience across 75+ markets, highlighting that payment localisation isn’t just about offering more options, it’s about balancing cost, setup complexity, and fraud prevention.
Markets like Brazil show why this balance matters. Local methods such as Pix in Brazil and Bizum in Spain can significantly boost conversions but adding them comes with operational and fraud-management considerations.

Brazil, in particular, stands out. Peny noted that implementing Pix – now an essential payment method – can shift up to 35% of traffic away from cards, cutting payment costs from 2–3% down to just a few cents per transaction, while lifting conversion rates by double digits. Success here depends on pairing local payment options with strong fraud-prevention strategies
However, the experts cautioned against over-engineering payment stacks. As Peny noted, every additional payment method adds complexity in reconciliation, refunds, and post-booking experiences. Merchants must carefully balance the potential revenue gains against operational complexity.

Payment orchestration platforms enable global scalability

The proliferation of APMs adds complexity for travel merchants. Jacqueline explained how payment orchestration platforms allow scalable integration of multiple local payment options without costly manual development.

Louis discussed how payment orchestration has become the top priority for travel merchants, with scalability now outweighing cost or reconciliation in selection criteria.
As he highlighted, orchestration platforms are essential for travel companies aiming to scale globally. In a recent conference poll, scalability came out as the leading reason merchants choose these solutions, beating even cost considerations.

Airlines that built internal orchestration systems 10–12 years ago are now feeling the strain. The rapid emergence of APMs like Pix in Brazil, Bizum in Spain, Swish in Sweden, Twint in Switzerland, and newer solutions like Wero in Europe has made manual integration increasingly unsustainable. Modern orchestration platforms, by contrast, offer plug-and-play capabilities that allow travel companies to expand quickly without being bogged down by legacy systems.

Louis emphasised that these platforms dramatically reduce time-to-market and implementation costs for merchants expanding into new geographies. They also enable dynamic payment method displays based on customer location, so Japanese travelers, for example, won’t be confused by seeing Bizum at checkout.

The silent revenue killer: false declines

Another major topic was the massive impact of false declines on revenue. Peny highlighted that the biggest financial hit from fraud solution decisions isn’t the cost of chargebacks or actual fraud, it’s the profit lost when legitimate sales are incorrectly declined. Studies suggest merchants lose two to three times more revenue to false declines than to real fraud.

The travel industry’s high-ticket values, digital assets, and thin margins make this especially tricky. As Peny explained, in a business with razor-thin margins, missing a sale – or approving a fraudulent transaction – can have serious consequences for the bottom line.

Louis outlined different types of declines: soft declines (network issues), hard declines (insufficient funds), and false positives. He also introduced split payments as an emerging solution. This approach allows travelers to combine payment methods or loyalty points, which is especially useful for group bookings. Customers can divide payments across multiple cards, methods, or even members of a group – perfect for family trips or young travelers organising group travel. Several European airlines have already implemented “pay as a group” options, where one person starts the payment and others receive links to contribute their share.

Payment UX localisation status

A poll indicated roughly half of attendees considered their payment UX fully localised, with the remainder partially or minimally localised. Jacqueline stressed that localisation strategies vary by merchant profile, market reach, and operational capacity. There is no one-size-fits-all approach; cost, refunds, and business models must guide decisions.
Looking ahead

Louis noted that AI agents requesting payment services will soon influence travel payments UX, requiring merchant attention to security and operational readiness. Peny recommended aligning payment strategies tightly with broader commercial goals, ensuring payments support both domestic and international revenue streams.

The panel concludes that capturing customers costs significant money, making it crucial not to lose that investment at payment time.

Call to action

The travel industry is approaching USD 1 trillion in volume, making even minor improvements in payment experience highly impactful. Merchants can optimise conversion and profitability by:

• Offering regionally tailored payment methods and currencies
• Leveraging payment orchestration platforms
• Implementing effective fraud solutions
• Considering emerging features like split payments

There is no universal solution. Each merchant must develop a tailored strategy balancing cost, complexity, and traveler expectations.

Key points to keep in mind

•  Currency localisation is non-negotiable: 92% of travelers are sensitive to currency display, and proper localisation builds trust while reducing conversion anxiety
• Local payment methods drive conversion: Over 50% of travelers abandon bookings without their preferred payment method – implementing region-specific APMs can lift conversion by double digits
• False declines cost more than fraud: Merchants lose 2-3x more revenue from incorrectly declined legitimate transactions than from actual fraud
• Payment orchestration enables scalability: As APMs proliferate globally, orchestration platforms provide essential infrastructure for rapid market expansion without technical burden
• Split payments address modern booking needs: Group travel and high-value purchases benefit from flexible payment splitting across multiple methods or payers
• Balance is crucial: Not every merchant needs every payment method – align payment strategy with commercial expansion plans and carefully evaluate ROI
• There's no one-size-fits-all solution: Each merchant must understand their unique profile and market dynamics to develop a tailored payment strategy

This recap highlights only the key points from the discussion. For the full insights on converting more high-intent travelers through strategic payment optimisation – including the full Q&A session – watch the webinar recording here.

About the author

Oana Ifrim is Lead Editor and content strategist for The Paypers’ Banking and Fintech team. She writes and manages features on a broad range of topics, including fintech, banking, payments, and industry trends, driving the editorial vision for cutting-edge topics, including payments modernisation, Open Banking, Open Finance, Embedded Finance, and Banking-as-a-Service. As an experienced editor and content lead, she oversees content creation and coverage, conducts expert interviews, and moderates video interviews, industry webinars, and panels. Oana also leads thought leadership initiatives, including whitepapers, customised projects, and in-depth industry reports. In addition to her editorial role, she represents The Paypers at major industry events, engaging with experts, gaining valuable insights, and staying ahead of key industry trends.

She can be reached at oana@thepaypers.com or on LinkedIn.

About Nuvei

 

Nuvei is a Canadian fintech company accelerating the business of clients worldwide. Nuvei’s technology allows companies to accept next-gen payments and benefit from card issuing, banking, and risk and fraud management services. Connecting businesses to their customers in more than 200 markets, with local acquiring in 50 markets, 150 currencies, and 720 APMs, Nuvei provides the technology and insights for customers and partners to succeed locally and globally with one integration.