Did you know that travel agencies lose up to 20% gross profit through inefficient payments set-up and back-office processes? Now, that’s a lot of money being wasted.
As the world around us digitizes, travel agencies need to adapt themselves to new technologies and to the market. However, when it comes to payment processes, most of them admit that their businesses are not yet ready to take the big step or they don’t have the necessary resources to adapt their online platforms, which leads them to waste part of their time and money into processing their payments manually.
In fact, managing B2B payments is a common pain point for too many businesses and sometimes it ends up costing companies more than what they expected, especially if they don’t have the time to do a proper investigation.
That’s why the majority end up having the same doubt — is there a way to adapt my business to the travel market seamlessly and without going bankrupt?
Yes, it is. If you just started accepting online payments and you’re not entirely happy, or you are considering receiving them, here are a few things you want to look for before even taking a step further.
Cashless equals worriless
Traditional transactions involving invoices, checks, and cash are cumbersome for sellers and buyers alike. They are time-consuming and sometimes unsafe, especially if you have to deal with local and overseas clients at the same time.
But, when you start receiving emails and phone calls from them requesting you alternatives to the traditional payment methods, you just know that it’s time to make a change. The first thing you’ll want to address is the most obvious aspect of it, which is — what platform is the best for my travel agency?
You want to look for a payment platform that will help you automate all the processes, reduce bank and transaction fees to the minimum, optimize the security between buyers and sellers and one that will eliminate manual bank transfers, reconciliation hassles, delays, paperwork, and the need to arrange payments manually to each travel supplier.
Stepping into online payments and its benefits
Thanks to the growing popularity of online reservations, it is important that companies adapt their online platform to both new travel trends and the needs of their customers and suppliers. What might not be so obvious, is the real benefits of doing it.
Most businesses spend too much time thinking about the direct costs of online payments rather the indirect ones — Why? Because the costs associated with every transaction are usually hidden.
By switching to an online payment gateway, you’ll have in your hands a powerful tool that works with a seamless process, and that increases efficiency and gives suppliers access to any payment method that they need — with no hidden costs and extra fees. All with a single integration.
A deeper look at Swappt and how it works
So far, your experience with the B2B payment processes might be in line with what of most other merchants: It’s way too complex, and we don’t have the time nor the team to implement this kind of technology.
But, growing your B2B company doesn’t mean that you have to build everything from the ground up. In fact, there’s a simpler way of doing it, and that’s where Swappt steps in.
We’ve developed a Payment Management Platform called Payment which is a hub based on Smart Routing features which means that we provide access to an all-in-one merchant platform that has been designed to allow businesses to pick and choose from a wide range of payment service providers in a single click.
With a single API, OTAs have access to an account manager which enables them to route all their B2B payments in a universal, secure and PCI compliant way. After each confirmed booking, a payment instruction is triggered and sent automatically to the corresponding payment service providers, based on the travel company’s pre-arranged preferences specified in Swappt’s platform.
From that same dashboard, they can also choose the type of virtual card or any other payment method based on the contracts they have with each supplier, and manage the invoice flow and conciliation with their accounting systems.
But besides these features, what other benefits does it bring to your business? Well here’s a few more.
Fraud-free & Secured platform
Over the last few years, Swappt has managed to reduce any fraud or risk associated with online payments significantly, and that’s one of the reasons why dozens of partners are thrusting their business to our platform. By eliminating all sources of manual payment processing errors, chargebacks, DCC fees, and other payments issues will remain in the past.
Freedom & Flexibility
At Swappt it’s not all about the costs, it’s also about the flexibility. What’s more, we care about our partners, and they are the reason why we make sure that your integration is implemented successfully and fulfilling your unique business needs.
Through Swappt’s platform, you can choose the payment method that suits you the best and matches your needs and every single one of your clients.
Single Integration
Whether you’re running a large multinational or a small business, we will take care of every step of the process. No tech requirements needed from you and a simple integration that will give you access to an easy-to-use web platform.
Automated Process
Forget all manual processing and tracking. Whether its processing credit cards or other payment methods we’ve automated the whole process for you to simply focus on your business and… your finance or accounting team will thank you.
As you can see, there are several reasons why an automated payment platform can improve your sales strategy, but if after reading some of its benefits you’re still stuck, don’t be afraid to let us know all of your doubts so we can help you out, and even help you find the right solution for your business.
