VIDEO: Navigating the travel payments ecosystem in Asia

Multi-currency payments; fraud; how many payment methods should you offer – key headaches that need addressing.

With 1.7 billion unbanked adults in the world, according to Findex Database, Worldbank, the opportunities to address this market with alternative payment methods are immense. The potential is biggest in Sub-Saharan Africa with 80% unbanked, followed by Middle East at 67% and Latin America at 65%.

Within Asia, there’s 59% in East Asia and South-east Asia and 58% in South Asia. In high-income OECD countries, the percentage falls to 8%, so even in the world of payments, there is huge inequality in the financial tech landscape.

The question is, how do you even begin to address this opportunity especially in the travel space where your customers cross borders (well, at least they used to until now) – but this period seems a good time to start investing in payments and getting your businesses ready for the return of cross-border travel.

Alvin Kumarga, senior vice president for financial services at Traveloka, Chan Chee Chong, co-founder and CEO at GlobalTix, Fui Ken Ling, vice president for hotel finance at Dusit International, and Chew Ann Wee, head of sales at NTT DATA Hong Kong, joined the PhocusWire Pulse event Progress In Travel Payments to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the Asia continent.

The session was moderated by Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder at WebInTravel.

The recording is included below...