Research Finds Flexible Payment Options Drive Higher Conversion Rates for South African Travel Bookings
New research commissioned by Peach Payments and PayJustNow, and conducted by Phocuswright, reveals that offering diverse payment options directly increases checkout conversions and basket sizes in South Africa's travel sector. The study, titled The Future of Travel in South Africa: How Travellers Discover, Book and Pay, found that digital wallets are rapidly becoming the preferred payment method, with 39 per cent of South Africans citing them as the fastest option. Flight booking platform Travelwings reported a notable uptick in transactions following the addition of Apple Pay and Google Pay, while Travelstart doubled its Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) market share from 3 to 6 per cent in a single year. Mobile money is also identified as a critical enabler, with Africa accounting for 74 per cent of all mobile money transactions globally and M-Pesa alone serving over 40 million users in Kenya.
Despite the opportunity, the research highlights significant operational challenges for travel merchants managing multiple payment providers, including complex reconciliation processes, varying commission structures, and high international transaction failure rates linked to 3D Secure technicalities. Researchers recommend that merchants seek payment service providers offering real-time risk management, PCI DSS Level 1 certification, and optimisation for African banking rails to improve authorisation rates and enable local settlement.
Source: Gadget
