NEW REPORT: Putting The Smarts Back Into Travel Payments

Mobile wallets might be struggling to catch on with consumers, but they sure as heck are attracting some serious dollars and attention.

And as mobile commerce continues to make its presence felt on the payments landscape, developers are seemingly more eager than ever to earn a spot in the mobile payments landscape. Last month, several companies in the software development space debuted new mobile payments solutions and apps for an increasingly mobile-friendly consumer pool.

Mobile engagement platform Urban Airship recently announced a service that allows loyalty cards to be updated with a single tap through Apple Pay. The company describes the solution as the first of its kind for mobile wallets.

Meanwhile, India’s largest bank has its eyes set on mobile QR payments. HDFC Bank recently unveiled IndiaQR, a scan-and-pay solution for small businesses that do not have the transaction volume to justify a high-priced investment in mobile payments acceptance technology.

Mobile payments are also fast gaining popularity in the Middle East. Payments solution provider OMA Emirates recently acquired MobiSwipe, a mobile payments provider which enables merchants to accept card payments by using their mobile devices as point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

Elevating Travel Payments

As technological advancements have made travel more convenient, consumers are now relying more and more on their mobile phones to ease their international payments pain points. And to cater to the growing demand for mobile payments, software developers are increasingly looking to build personalized, secure mobile payment solutions to help make traveling as convenient, efficient and secure as possible.

To discuss the current state of digital payment developments in the travel industry, PYMNTS recently caught up with Celia Pereiro, the head of payments for travel software solution provider Amadeus. Pereiro sees the shift toward mobile payments continuing to gain momentum, and, with that, a continual decline in cash usage and an increase in personalization and customization.

“Personalization in payments is becoming a hot topic in travel as more and more people book on mobile devices,” Pereiro said. “With that smaller screen-size, it is not feasible to offer a long list of possible payment options — people just want to see the best payment option for them for that given payment. And their preferred payment option will change depending on whether they are booking a business trip, their honeymoon or spending $20 on extra baggage at the airport.”

To download the March edition of the PYMNTS.com Developer Tracker, click the button below…

About the Tracker

The PYMNTS.com Developer Tracker, powered by Vantiv, provides the payments ecosystem with a view into how software developers are using new technologies to create innovative business opportunities and to enable merchants to optimize the ways in which they engage with shoppers today. The developer community within the tracker is separated into three categories: Shopping and Payments, Operations and Marketing.