Unlocking new horizons: 2025 opportunities for travel & hospitality

The travel and hospitality industry is bringing out a lot of growth opportunities this year, but not everyone has the means to take advantage of them. Businesses still relying on outdated payment systems are likely missing out. 2025 will be a turning point, where you adapt or get left behind. This isn't just about creating seamless experiences. It's about staying ahead of the competition.

Read on if you would like to know how a flexible wallet infrastructure can change the game for your platform.

Embedded finance: more than just bookings

Bookings alone won’t generate enough revenue to keep your platform growing. Integrating financial services such as wallets, lending, and other payment solutions directly into platforms is the go-to for unlocking additional revenue. For travel and hospitality, this translates to offering wallet-based financing for bookings (BNPL options), providing platform-branded wallets for seamless in-app transactions, and enabling in-app investment accounts for travel rewards programs. With the right infrastructure, you can maximize monetization throughout the guests’ experience.

B2B cross-border payments & FX optimization

Legacy payment systems are expensive, slow, and increasingly unfit for purpose. In a global market, cost-effective, real-time, multi-currency solutions are key. Automated, embedded payment systems streamline international transactions in real-time, reducing FX costs and eliminating the risk of chargebacks. Modern, embedded systems also enable new revenue streams via upsells and FX markups.

From room upgrades to late checkouts, every transaction becomes an opportunity to drive growth.

Customizable and vendor-agnostic payments

Relying on a single payment provider limits flexibility and scalability. With our PSP-agnostic infrastructure, you can integrate multiple payment methods, global and local, without compromising control or performance. You can scale your business as needed by connecting it all into a flexible wallet infrastructure, and maintain control over your payment ecosystem and funds flow.

AI-driven fraud prevention

Financial fraud is complex and costly, especially in multi-party payment ecosystems. Effective fraud prevention requires industry-specific intelligence and technology that goes beyond generic promises.

Working with a true and tested provider is vital in detecting synthetic identity fraud, reducing chargebacks, preventing account takeovers, and ensuring the security of financial transactions. Look out for providers that can really understand your industry and the setup of your funds flow and guest journey.

Multi-currency acceptance and secure payment flows

In today's global travel market, multi-currency acceptance is inherent to the business. The ability to accept, hold, and convert funds using a flexible FX infrastructure gives businesses greater control and opens up new revenue streams. A flexible infrastructure will allow you to manage FX payments from pay-in to payout, create multi-currency wallets, and programmatically convert funds to streamline money movements from end-to-end, all while unlocking better user experiences.

Navigating the challenges and seizing opportunities

While these trends present opportunities, several common challenges remain:

• Fragmented payment systems: implement integrated, streamlined payment solutions that handle split payments efficiently.

• High chargeback rates: invest in fraud prevention and dispute resolution mechanisms.

• Managing costs: balance operational expenses with investments in technology and competitive strategies.

To thrive, travel and hospitality businesses must focus on:

• Embedded wallets that you can program to fit your business needs.

• Cross-border capabilities to enable global scale

• Financial process optimization with real-time, multi-currency support

Ready to scale your platform?

Outdated systems are holding your business back. With Mangopay, you can simplify international payments, reduce friction, and unlock new sources of revenue, all while improving the end-user experience.

Chris Brooks, CFO of Travelnest, shares his experience of our strategic partnership: “Simplifying and streamlining the payment process is essential to our service, and Mangopay has provided us with a solution that enhances efficiency and reduces costs."

Mangopay’s wallet infrastructure has been empowering travel and hospitality platforms to scale and take control of their payment flows. Industry players like Travelnest, BlaBlaCar, Yescapa, OVO Netowrk, and many more have been using our solution to grow faster, simplify operations, and lead in the global platform economy.

Get in touch with Mangopay to explore how we can help you scale in 2025 and beyond.