Why payments are becoming a growth strategy for travel companies

Payments have traditionally sat behind the scenes in travel, viewed largely as an operational necessity rather than a source of competitive advantage. But as travel companies operate across more markets, currencies and settlement cycles, payments are increasingly becoming part of the growth equation, with implications for revenue, margins and global expansion.

In this Changemaker session at Phocuswright Europe, David Messenger, CEO of global businesses at PingPong Payments, focused his presentation on one particularly overlooked area: foreign exchange. He examined how the gap between booking and settlement can expose travel companies to currency fluctuations and argued that embedding FX capabilities directly into payment workflows can help manage that risk while opening up new revenue opportunities. 

Following the presentation, Messenger sat down with Phocuswright research analyst and Europe content specialist Dirk Rogl to broaden the conversation. They discussed why payments are moving beyond the finance department, the challenges of integrating new payment infrastructure into travel’s fragmented technology stack and where AI, global collections and more integrated fintech platforms could take travel payments next. 

Watch the full session below.