Industry Observation | The Current Situation and Development of B2B Payments on OTA Platforms

Current State of B2B Payments on OTA Platforms

According to the “World Tourism Economic Trends Report (2023)”, global tourism is predicted to reach a total of 10.78 billion people and total revenue of 5 trillion USD in 2023, recovering to 74.4% and 86.2% respectively of pre-pandemic levels in 2019. For the top 20 countries ranked by total tourism revenue, the percentage of tourism revenue recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 will exceed 90%.

As the global tourism industry gradually moves into the fast lane of recovery and development, digital solutions have become an important tool for tourism enterprises to regain vitality and achieve growth. More and more tourism companies, such as OTA platforms and TMC companies, are choosing to use B2B payment solutions to pay suppliers. These solutions are mostly digital and can provide functions such as online invoicing, payment tracking, and automatic reconciliation, which help simplify the payment process for tourism companies.

01 B2B payment for OTA platforms (Online Travel Agencies)

OTA platforms around the world are also continuing to promote digital development, using B2B payment solutions as mentioned above, and there are many B2B payment solutions to choose from, including payment gateways, digital wallets, and commercial cards. Many B2B payment solutions offer customizable payment options such as regular payments, batch payments, and automatic payment reminders, which can help OTA platforms manage cash flow.

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As the global tourism payment scene continues to develop, there are still some urgent challenges to be addressed, such as ensuring the security of digital payment systems and increasing financial inclusion for those who may not have access to traditional banking services.

02 Virtual credit cards created for OTA platforms

Currently, virtual credit cards have been widely used in the tourism industry and most companies have reached a consensus – over time, virtual credit cards will become an irreplaceable payment method.

Before issuing the card, the company can set the spending limit, define the purpose and choose the supplier of the virtual credit card. This enables the finance department to fully control the flow of funds and track and manage them. In addition, after the supplier payment is completed, the card can be automatically cancelled to ensure that no one can obtain the card number, reuse it, or pay fees exceeding the predetermined amount. As the entire transaction process is electronic, costs can be monitored in real-time, thereby helping to reduce fraud risks and improve the security of B2B payments.

It should be noted that one of the main features of virtual credit cards is security. It is predicted that from 2020, losses related to credit card fraud will peak and are expected to exceed $25 billion over the next few years. Virtual credit cards can be created through web portals and APIs, supporting enterprises to customize card limits and validity periods. By limiting the use time of a single card, it effectively avoids the possibility of card information being abused during business travel.

Therefore, the use of virtual credit cards not only reduces transaction costs, but also provides peace of mind because of the security measures that reduce the possibility of fraud. Compared with traditional payment methods, OTA platforms increasingly require more flexible, secure, and low-cost payment solutions. The key factor to meet this demand is virtual credit cards, which have the same functions as physical cards, but are generated in electronic form.

By automating the tourism payment process, virtual credit cards reduce the cost of manual reconciliation and give the finance department more time and control, greatly improving work efficiency.

0 3 SUNRATE Enterprise Credit Card Product Empowers the Aviation Industry

In the post-epidemic era, choosing a leading digital service provider can create a safe and efficient fund management solution for you. With excellent innovation, efficiency, and service, SUNRATE has created a one-stop online aviation travel solution that can cover diversified scenes such as OTA platforms, airline websites, etc.

Through SUNRATE’s flexible and convenient enterprise credit card product, it can help aviation travel companies achieve more efficient circulation of trade funds at lower cost:

1. Support platform and API to generate cards in batches in real-time to improve card opening efficiency;

2. Enterprises can open customized cards as needed, customize card limits and validity periods, and reduce abuse risks;

3. No limit on the number of card applications, support flexible opening of single/multiple settlement cards, and simplify the reconciliation process;

4. Support the creation of multi-currency cards to meet the payment needs of mainstream currencies such as USD, GBP, EUR, etc., and also support card applications and settlements in small currencies such as Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah to reduce transaction costs.

With an industry-high compliance review mechanism, SUNRATE has successfully passed the first-level certification of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Moreover, SUNRATE is also a direct issuing institution of Mastercard and Visa, and issues cards directly to enterprises as an issuing bank to ensure the security and compliance of the entire transaction process.

If you want to learn more about enterprise credit card products and B2B payment services, please go to SUNRATE’s official WeChat account/website to consult customer service. More digital payment solutions for B2B trade, cross-border e-commerce, online aviation travel, and other business scenarios are waiting for you to experience!

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