CellPoint Raises $30 Million for Travel Sector Payment Orchestration

Travel-industry-focused payment orchestration firm CellPoint Digital has raised $30 million in new funding.

The financing, from Toscafund and Penta Capital, will help speed the launch of CellPoint’s Offer Order Service Delivery (OOSD) payment orchestration platform, created to power the travel industry’s transformation toward modern airline retailing, the company said in a Thursday (Nov. 21) news release.

“This latest funding round highlights the growing demand for advanced payment expertise and payment orchestration solutions in the global travel industry, where CellPoint Digital stands as the market leader,” CellPoint said in the release.

The company said the new funding will allow it to intensify its focus on optimizing payment and money movement service for clients while expanding its alternative payment method hub.

PYMNTS spoke earlier this week with CellPoint Digital CEO Kristian Gjerding about the challenges of simplifying payments in the travel sector.

“Simplicity in travel, the more they can go hand-in-hand, the better that is for everyone,” Gjerding said during a discussion for the What’s Next in Payments series, “Business Simplicity: The New KPI.”

The CEO noted that one of the key pain points for travelers is a fractured, cumbersome user experience where consumers often have to deal with checkout errors, lost seat reservations, interrupted transactions, fluctuating prices and limited payment options.

“Against this backdrop, simplifying the travel experience is becoming synonymous with streamlined payment solutions as travelers increasingly seek convenience and security from booking to checkout,” PYMNTS wrote. “For the modern traveler, every stage of a journey — from reserving flights to paying for a coffee on arrival — benefits from smooth, integrated payment experiences that eliminate friction.”

Travel merchants like airlines and hotels face an even larger challenge, Gjerding said, dealing with high operational costs, technical hurdles and limited resources as they try to navigate fraud detection services, currency exchanges and reconciliation processes.

“That’s why, in a competitive market where travelers expect seamless interactions, travel businesses are increasingly focusing on payments as a cornerstone of service improvement,” PYMNTS wrote.

Also this week, CellPoint Digital launched a collaboration with Paysafe designed to let travel merchants offer seamless payments to their customers, allowing these merchants to connect to numerous acquirers through CellPoint’s payment orchestration platform.

“As a key acquirer, we are committed to supporting and innovating alongside merchants, offering them access to our robust acquiring solutions, high acceptance rates, enhanced security terms and improved liquidity,” Arun Lal, senior director of sales, eCommerce at Paysafe, said in a news release. “Orchestration platforms have become a popular strategy for the travel industry when accepting payments, and we are thrilled to spearhead this evolution with CellPoint Digital.”