How travel companies can save millions on cross-border payments

The travel industry moves people across borders with breathtaking efficiency. Yet, when it comes to moving money, many businesses hit unnecessary roadblocks. For an industry built on seamless global experiences, how can financial operations be so fragmented?

The problem lies in outdated payment systems that weren’t built for the speed and complexity of today’s global travel economy. However, that’s changing. Newer financial infrastructure, designed for multi-currency transactions and built with automation in mind, is helping travel companies reduce costs, accelerate settlements, and operate more efficiently. No more layers of fees. No more forced conversions. Just financial operations that move as fast as the travelers they serve.

The hidden costs of traditional cross-border payments

According to a recent survey conducted by Airwallex and Skift, almost two-thirds of travel finance executives said outdated or complicated payment systems hurt their profit margins, with over a third losing as much as 10%. For mid-sized operators, that can translate to millions of dollars in revenue vanishing into unnecessary fees and currency spreads. 

Where’s the money going? Here’s a peek:

Currency conversion represents one of the most significant sources of value leakage. A typical transaction involving multiple currencies, such as a UK tour operator paying a Mexican hotel through US dollar intermediaries, incurs fees at each conversion point and suffers from unfavorable exchange rates.

This happens due to “forced conversions,” where funds are unnecessarily routed through a third currency (usually USD) even when a direct exchange is possible. For example, instead of converting GBP directly to MXN, many traditional providers require a GBP → USD → MXN flow, which adds layers of cost and complexity.

In some cases, both incoming and outgoing payments are converted to USD, resulting in a “double conversion” that silently eats into margins. These costs might seem small on a single transaction, but they add up fast. For travel businesses processing millions of international payments, even a 1.5% difference in FX efficiency can mean hundreds of thousands – or even millions – in annual savings.

Payment acceptance presents another challenge. Travelers booking tours, activities, or accommodations online expect to pay local businesses using familiar, trusted payment methods. However, many traditional payment providers don’t support the local rails or methods these customers prefer, such as SEPA Direct Debit in Europe or Pix in Brazil.

If these options aren’t available during checkout, potential customers often abandon the booking altogether. That means missed revenue, lower conversion rates, and fewer opportunities to grow internationally – all because the payment experience doesn’t meet expectations.

Supplier payments compound these issues. In the travel industry, suppliers – from hotels and tour operators to transportation providers – are often located across multiple countries and use different currencies. Yet, many businesses still rely on traditional international bank transfers via the SWIFT network to pay these partners, which introduces friction at a critical stage of operations.

These transfers can take several days to process, often come with high fees, and provide little transparency into when or how the funds will land. This lack of visibility can delay service delivery, complicate reconciliation, and increase the risk of disputes.

For finance teams, it adds operational overhead, and for supplier relationships, it adds unnecessary strain. When payments are late or unpredictable, trust erodes, and businesses may miss out on preferred rates or inventory, or even lose long-standing partners.

In a high-volume, low-margin industry like travel, these inefficiencies can directly impact profitability and growth.

Modern payment infrastructure solutions

Leading-edge travel companies are solving their payment challenges with platforms like Airwallex, which combine global reach with financial agility. These intuitive, tech-enabled solutions help travel businesses drive cost savings, improve global payment flows, and optimize financial operations.

Take Tenon Tours, for example. This custom tour operator used Airwallex to simplify global supplier payments and eliminate double conversions. By switching to Airwallex, they simplified supplier payments and eliminated unnecessary currency conversions by using local settlement. They also gained real-time visibility and control over FX. The result? Lower costs, smoother treasury operations, and more time to focus on growth. It’s a clear example of what’s possible with the right infrastructure.

Local payment acceptance

Travel companies operate globally but sell locally, and payment expectations vary from market to market. If customers can’t pay using familiar methods, they’re more likely to abandon the booking.

Airwallex enables businesses to accept payments in over 180 countries and conduct like-for-like settlements in more than 14 currencies, avoiding forced conversions that typically incur a 1–3% transaction fee. Travel companies can hold foreign currencies that they’ve collected from international travelers and use those balances to pay suppliers in the same currencies.

Support for 160+ local payment methods – from Poland’s BLIK to the Netherlands’ iDEAL – gives travelers the payment experience they expect, helping travel companies boost booking conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction.

Intelligent currency management

For finance teams overwhelmed by spreadsheets, Airwallex’s powerful APIs automate the most tedious and error-prone aspects of multi-currency operations. The platform gives treasurers both control and flexibility through:

• Multi-currency accounts in 23+ currencies

• Real-time programmatic FX conversion via API

• Treasury optimization tools

This means an Australian tour operator can hold USD for supplier payments, EUR for customer refunds, and AUD  for local expenses on a single platform. With Airwallex, they can set automated rules to convert balances when exchange rates meet predefined thresholds, helping them take advantage of favorable FX rates and reduce their reliance on manual tracking.

By avoiding unnecessary currency conversions and managing FX programmatically, they eliminate the compounding fees and delays common in traditional cross-border payment workflows.

Streamlined supplier payments

Airwallex’s embedded finance solutions enable travel companies to integrate powerful financial capabilities directly into their operations, from issuing virtual multi-currency cards to managing local payouts.

By supporting direct settlement in 20+ currencies, travel companies can pay vendors in their preferred currency, reducing fees, eliminating unnecessary conversions, and improving reconciliation. This also enables faster and more reliable payments, which strengthens supplier relationships and gives finance teams greater control over their global spend.

And paying in local currency is only half the equation. Airwallex also enables fast, local payouts in 110+ countries, allowing travel companies to move funds efficiently across borders and eliminate the delays, costs, and friction of traditional banking systems.

Why smarter local payments are a competitive edge

Payment optimization delivers a measurable competitive advantage in an industry characterized by tight margins and intense competition. The savings from reduced FX and processing fees flow directly to the bottom line, while operational improvements enhance supplier relationships and customer satisfaction.

Modern payment infrastructure represents the next frontier in optimizing the travel industry. Just as technological advancements transformed booking systems and loyalty programs, financial operations now stand poised for similar innovation. Companies that recognize this opportunity position themselves for sustainable success in global markets. And travel executives are quickly catching on: 90% say they're prioritizing upgrades to their payment and financial operations systems. 

Ready to modernize your travel company’s financial operations? Sign up for free to get started with Airwallex.