Technological evolution happens at a rapid pace and as devices and networks get faster, so does the speed and accuracy of online payment technology. The travel industry is wholly dependent on payment infrastructure as debit and credit instruments are the preferred choice of tender for travelers. The process in accepting debit or credit cards has many participants and requires 5 steps to complete. As a matter of convenience to the consumer, this process has to take less than a few seconds to complete. Efficient and effective payment technology is critical for travel providers especially in this era where opportunities for fraud are ever increasing. With artificial intelligence making its way into mainstream technology, acceptance platforms that work with the travel industry can employ additional layers of security and accuracy into their systems.
3 AI Based Trends for Payment Technology
With travel payments taken on a global scale, providers and acceptance platforms have to diligently analyze each transaction to ensure it is indeed legitimate and secure. Credit card and online payment fraud continues to grow at a rapid clip and is expected to reach over $360 billion by 2028 while credit card chargebacks and disputes have been growing by 30% annually. AI based technologies can perform super fast and detailed analysis of transactions, minimizing and controlling losses associated with payment acceptance. Here are 3 major trends for AI related payment technology:
- Payment orchestration could be vastly improved by fast moving AI based data analysis. Initial screens could quickly determine if a payment requires further authentication based set and historical parameters.
- Fraud detection could be vastly more accurate as user histories could be compared against earlier behaviors and compared and cross referenced within nanoseconds. The technology then could make an accurate decision based on those inputs and appropriately deny or flag a purchase for further investigation.
- Technology can effectively manage chargebacks by assembling all relevant purchase records, analyzing past individual dispute requests and completing forms required by card issuers when customers dispute a charge. AI backed infrastructure can also communicate progress and results directly with the customer.
Optimizing Payments Technology for B2B
Travel is a resource oriented business and providers such as resorts and airlines rely on supplies for day to day operations and issuing payments quickly and efficiently to suppliers is critical to keep business going. Payment technology that uses AI models can streamline processes and maintain detailed record keeping while applying the same anti-fraud and security measures within the B2B ecosystem. Business travel in 2024 is set to exceed pre-pandemic volumes and accurate and efficient payment technologies for this end of the market is crucial with the value and volume transactions taking place. AI capabilities can extend to corporate travel payments delivering the following benefits:
- Adoption of manual and repetitive tasks
- Exacting accuracy and detailed reporting of transactions
- Streamlining payment process by handling documentation, communication and record keeping
- Next level fraud detection and prevention by analyzing vast amount of historical and real time data to identify potential red flags and patterns
AI technology is designed to learn and after time ‘on the job’, the technology can further optimize payment systems by making recommendations to improve resource and asset allocation.
Consumer Confidence Is Critical for Online Payments
Today’s online consumer is hypersensitive to divulging private information. Recent data breaches at some very well known brands have elevated individual concerns when it comes to data security but new innovations with AI can instill confidence in consumers when inputting account numbers and other sensitive information. Merchants and processors who employ advanced payment technologies can simplify the consumer facing process as well as adding additional layers of security and fraud detection. An easy to use system as well as marketing of additional data security features can instill confidence in the travel client and may even influence the purchasing decision. .
Payment Technology Benefits From Recent Innovations
Travel demand for both business and leisure will continue to surge as volumes return to pre-pandemic levels and the need for efficient and secure payment processing will only increase. With the advent of AI based technologies, payment solutions are evolving to provide faster and more accurate transaction processes and settlements. AI infrastructure can provide added security by performing superfast analysis of transactions to identify and flag potentially fraudulent transactions. As credit card fraud continues to increase, AI models can learn from past instances and quickly adapt to ever changing methods by nefarious bad actors. AI technology can also help and streamline the process of business travel by enabling companies to perform quick ‘batch’ payments and allowing accounting departments to customize spending reports and tailor invoicing systems to keep ledgers in order and in accordance with company policies. Newer innovations in payment technology will deliver speed, accuracy and security to travel providers and operators who depend on this technology to collect revenue.