The payment reality of travel
Travel bookings cross borders by default — a traveller in one market books a hotel, flight or tour priced and delivered in another, often paying in a currency that isn't their own. The gap between booking and delivery can run from days to months, and in that window a lot can change: a flight is cancelled, a trip is rescheduled, a booking has to be refunded in whole or in part.
Paying the supply side is a second, separate problem. Hotels, tour operators and other suppliers need to be paid in their own local currency, on their own schedule, in a market that's often different again from both the traveller and the platform itself. Handled apart from the booking that generated it, that payout is one more system to keep in sync as booking volume grows.
A five-month gap between booking and departure isn't a flaw in travel payments. It's the whole problem.
How CyberPay helps
Four capabilities, built around what makes travel different: a long gap between payment and delivery, and a supply side that needs paying in its own market, on its own schedule. Each capability is built around the long gap between booking and delivery that makes travel different from most other verticals.
Local acceptance in the traveller's market
Travellers pay using the methods and currency their own market prefers, rather than a single checkout built around one region.
Multi-currency
Bookings are priced, collected and settled in the currency that fits, without a manual conversion step between the traveller, the platform and the supplier.
Refunds handled cleanly
Cancellations and partial refunds are issued on the same platform used to collect, reconciled against the original booking rather than tracked separately in a support queue.
Payouts to suppliers and operators, with screening tuned to travel
Hotels, tour operators and other suppliers are paid out in their own market and currency, with risk screening tuned to the booking and cancellation patterns travel actually produces.
Methods and markets
Travel bookings need to authorize in the traveller's own market and settle correctly however far ahead the trip is:
- Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay — for booking in the traveller's own market.
- Local payment methods — added where a market's travellers expect them over a card.
- Supplier payouts — to hotels, operators and other suppliers, in their own currency.
- Refunds — cancellations and partial refunds reconciled against the original booking.
CyberPay covers 73 markets across 6 regions — see the full coverage map.
Booking, refund and supplier payout all reconcile against the same transaction, however long the gap between payment and the trip itself turns out to be.
Integration
A travel platform can take bookings through the Hosted Cashier, or call the Direct API to keep the booking flow on its own site. Pay-ins, refunds and supplier payouts run on the same integration, with Query-Transactions for reconciliation. Build against the sandbox before going live.
Use cases
Three ways travel businesses use CyberPay to collect bookings globally and keep supplier payouts reconciled against them, however far ahead the trip is. Each business books and settles differently, but all three need the booking, any refund, and the eventual payout to stay linked over time.
An OTA taking global bookings
An online travel agency taking bookings from travellers worldwide accepts each traveller's local payment methods and currency, with the booking, any refund and the eventual supplier payout all reconciled against the same transaction.
A tour operator paying local suppliers
A tour operator collects payment for a trip upfront and pays local suppliers — guides, transport, accommodation — out in their own market and currency once services are delivered.
An airline consolidator
A consolidator selling airfares across multiple carriers and markets collects in the traveller's currency and settles with airlines and partners separately, with both sides visible on one reconciliation.
Frequently asked questions
What payment methods do you support for travel bookings?
Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and local payment methods, depending on the traveller's market. Method coverage is added market by market, so travellers booking from any region get a checkout built for them.
How do refunds and cancellations work?
Refunds and partial refunds are issued on the same platform used to collect, reconciled against the original booking.
Can you pay hotels, operators and suppliers out?
Yes. Supplier and operator payouts run on the same integration used to collect from travellers, in the supplier's own market and currency. Payouts can be scheduled to match when a service is actually delivered, rather than paid out at the moment of booking.
What currencies do you support?
Bookings can be priced, collected and settled in the currency that fits — see the full coverage map.
How is fraud handled on bookings?
Risk scoring is tuned to the booking and cancellation patterns travel produces, applied before a booking authorizes — it reduces exposure, it is not a guarantee against every dispute.
Ready to take bookings globally?
One integration for local acceptance, multi-currency bookings, clean refunds and supplier payouts.