COVID-19 has become one of the biggest threats to the global economy. Countries around the world are taking measures to mitigate risks such as restricting travel, closing down public transportation, instituting remote work arrangements, enforcing social distancing, and generally limiting people’s movement. As a result, there was a significant disruption in the economy that saw a decline in business activities for all small, medium, and large-scale industries. However, digital payment volume has been rising in airlines, hospitality, e-commerce, entertainment, and other sectors.
Innovative technology and processing have made digital payment simpler and more convenient to both merchants and customer, especially for a private Jet or commercial flight, it is highly likely to see a credit card reader lying around somewhere. When you are in the air and need to buy drinks or snacks, your flight attendants will ask you to tap in via card reader. Thus, from check-in to arrival, digital payment and card transactions have become so popular that these have phased out in-cabin cash transactions.
Digital Payment in the Air
Credit card and card readers were not the lasting solutions for the private airlines to provide a hassle-free travel experience to their customers. Payment processing companies are providing various digital payment solutions that are preferable to the customers. Thus, Airline Companies need to consider alternative payment solutions as credit cards are slowly becoming out-of-date and digital payment is gaining popularity. Digital payment is considered more reliable as these are directly linked to the user’s bank account.
Since digital payments goes directly from the customer’s account to the merchant’s account, they are viewed as more reliable than cash and are not considered debt. It started in China where airlines first accepted digital payments for air tickets and in-flight purchases. This trend started to go global in a very short period when other airline companies realised that consumers preferred digital payment rather than carrying cash or credit card with them. Finnair started digital payment for in-flight transactions and ticket booking and saw a 200% increase in in-cabin sales.
Benefits of Digital Payments for Airlines Industry
In the new age of digital innovation, airline companies need to prioritise the payment process to maintain customers’ needs and boost their sales revenue. Here are some of the benefits of Digital Payment that can provide an advantage for the Airlines Industry.
Increase Brand Value
In this digitisation era, the first interaction of a traveler would be the airlines’ website. First, customers are asked whether they would like to proceed or consider other airlines. Therefore, a user-friendly website with integrated payment options will make your customers’ journey seamless and ultimately increases your Brand Value. With CloudBanking virtual terminal, you can provide a hassle-free travel experience for your passengers and increase the volume of booking.
Boost Sales Volume
When a company can offer varied payment options, it can easily attract more customers from different parts of the world. The same is the case with Airlines and Private Aviation Companies. Digital payment systems enable customers from different parts of the world to pay via their preferred mode of payment. Partnering with a payment gateway provides your customers an option to pay via mobile pay, Mastercard, or credit card. It reconciles your financial statement at a given specific period and provides real-time data.
Increase Conversion Rate
With a digital payment option, a customer will not have any specific reason to not buy a plane ticket from you. Once a customer decides to travel, a convenient payment processing on the airlines’ website will convert that idea into sales. Therefore, integrating your airlines’ booking engine with a digital payment system will prevent potential customers from diverting off of your website to reserve a flight. CloudBanking digital payment uplifts your airlines’ website into one junction for all your customer’s traveling requirements and you won’t miss an opportunity for a potential sale.
Minimises Fraud
To maintain your brand value and existing customers, it is important to set up a security measure to protect you against fraud. Airline fraud is not an easy thing to handle as the cost to resolve it is usually very high. The PIC-compliant feature of CloudBanking provides secure card transaction and thereby protects airlines from online fraud.
Track Your Activity
With the reporting feature of the Payment processing dashboard, you can get access to real-time information about your transaction within a given period. It will help your airline company keep track of your sales and prevent mismanagement of company funds.
Conclusion
An Airlines Company that embraces technology and innovation will retain its customers and increase Brand Value and Market share. Though Considered as High Risk, it is a challenging task to choose a payment processing partner. Thus, the CloudBanking payment solution helps you boost your revenue while managing risk. With our innovative anti-fraud tools and feature-rich plugins, you can identify potentially fraudulent transactions and thus receive ultimate protection.
Boost your revenue while managing risk with our innovative anti-fraud tools. Our feature-rich and fully customisable plugin-in identifies potentially fraudulent transactions and provides the ultimate protection.
As a payment partner, CloudBanking offers billing with an affordable processing rate and zero lock-in contract which helps you meet long-term goals and grow your business.
Contact us today to learn more about our payment processing and many other services we provide.