Nine in 10 leaders in the travel industry now view fintech and
payments as a high priority, with 80% of companies expecting to match or
surpass their 2019 fintech investment levels this year.
According to Amadeus' Travel Fintech Investment Trends 2022 report,
which surveyed over 70 senior leaders from large airlines and travel
sellers, a third of firms plan to match 2019 levels while a significant
50% plan to increase investment.
When questioned more broadly on company-wide investment, 70% of
participants plan on investing through 2022 to capture an expected
rebound in travel, with only 30% opting for a more conservative
strategy.
Improving the traveller experience and increasing revenue through
payments are cited as the top reasons driving fintech investment, said
Amadeus.
The report also revealed two sets of fintech investment priorities among respondents.
More travel companies expect to invest in ‘existing’ capabilities
during 2022 with alternative payment methods (61%); strong customer
authentication (46%) and fraud (44%) ranked as the three top priorities.
Meanwhile, a second group of ‘emerging’ priorities also scored
highly, with payments in NDC (47%); buy now pay later (36%);
multi-currency pricing (34%); and chargeback management (31%) completing
the top half of the priority list.
Notably, accepting crypto payments was a priority for the fewest
number of firms, although 14% do plan to invest in the capability during
2022.
David Doctor, executive vice president of payments, Amadeus
commented: “Fintech stands out as an area of the travel business where
you can provide new value-added services that bring revenue, whilst also
improving the traveller experience."
That explains the growing fintech focus among travel business,
including Amadeus which expects to double the people in its payments
team by the end of next year compared to 2021.
Doctor added: “We see our customers rethinking today’s challenges,
like how to manage elevated levels of chargebacks. Whilst also looking
to the future, travel brands are embracing innovations like buy now pay
later and multi-currency pricing to deliver a more flexible and
transparent digital experience.”
Chargebacks, the formal process when a cardholder disputes a payment,
have risen dramatically during the pandemic as more travellers have
become aware of the option.
According to this study, 70% of travel businesses saw a significant
increase in chargebacks with 30% choosing to increase headcount to
manage the additional disputes.
A quarter of firms revealed they have been unable to effectively
challenge chargebacks due to the volume increase, raising concerns that
the cost of chargeback fraud may have risen since the onset of the
pandemic.