New research shows that payment security affects travel purchase decisions

According to a new study, security is an important factor for individuals to consider before travel, with over 70% saying they choose travel agencies based on their strong reputation for safe commercial.

This is because 64% of travelers perceive payment fraud as an increase.

“From this study, it is clear that security awareness is a problem, which makes it difficult to provide a smooth, one-time payment,” said Jean-Christophe Lacour, senior vice president and global head of Outpayce, a subsidiary of travel technology company Amadeus, in a statement.

“Widely publicly published data breaches have reduced consumer trust and the industry needs to take proactive steps to rebuild trust.”

Payment fraud occurs when a bad actor uses personal payment information to illegally purchase a product or withdraw cash.

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Also, OutPayce’s research found that organized fraud rings target the travel industry due to their high transaction value and the international nature of the industry.

“Everyone enters their credit card information online immediately. All under the illusion that our data is safe, this is far from true,” Sunil Gupta, senior travel advisor for luxury India Tours, which hosts trips to India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal, told the Epoch Times.

Casago CEO Steve Schwab said artificial intelligence (AI) is part of the problem right now.

“In the hands of bad actors, it can be much more difficult to detect attempts at fraud,” Schwab told the Epoch Times. “Many travel agencies have been around for many years, and there is also a lack of strong cybersecurity measures, such as unmodernized travel agencies.”

“Airlines tend to be scams with more complex systems, large numbers of international transactions and higher cost purchases,” John Rose, chief risk advisor at global corporate travel management firm Altour, told The Epoch Times.

Rose attributes the rise in fraud to the inconsistent adoption of old infrastructure and secure payment practices.

“Many merchants, especially in the industry, such as travel, still store their credit card information and their customers remain vulnerable,” he said.

Travel agencies often want customers to store their card details online, allowing for easy one-click payments.

However, there is little confidence in travel agencies.

Approximately 63% of travelers said they are reluctant to store payment details with travel agencies due to concerns over fraud, data privacy and fraudulent fees. According to an Outpasse survey, a third of respondents said they were afraid that travel agencies would ensure their payment data was kept completely safe and that details would be lost during a data breach.

Additionally, Gupta said, “If the company only deals with wire transfers, crypto, gift cards, etc., it’s likely to be a scam.”

“These are the kinds of transfers that are much more difficult to track, which is why they are loved by scammers everywhere.”

An OutPayce survey further found that Brazil’s payment fraud victims were 89%, with 44% in the US and 38% in the UK. France and Singapore both have a low payment fraud rate of 37%.

“Both France and Singapore have implemented comprehensive regulations and standards for secure payments, encouraging businesses to adopt NFC, tokenization and encryption,” Rose said.

Defining tokenization as the practice of replacing sensitive payment card data with secure tokens, this study is a looming technology that reduces customer risk by offering alternatives to store traveler sensitive payment details in travel agencies.

However, costs and complexity have prevented some airlines and travel companies from adopting these technologies more quickly.

“You shouldn’t be allowed to store your card numbers anywhere, because doing so will create a huge vulnerability in your payment system,” he added. “However, implementing tokenization widely among airlines presents a challenge: it requires significant investments in system upgrades, employee training and customer trust.”