
A travel merchant account is a specialized financial account designed for travel businesses, such as airlines, hotels, tour operators and travel agencies, allowing them to accept and process payments.
Unlike standard providers, merchant services for travel companies are designed to handle the unique financial and operational risks associated with the travel sector, including extended booking windows, high-ticket transactions and a higher potential for chargebacks.
We're here to tell you everything you need to know about these specialized travel merchant accounts and why choosing the right one matters for your business's stability.
In this article, we'll be answering the following questions:
- Why aren't generic merchant accounts suitable for most travel businesses?
- How do the travel merchant accounts differ from generic ones?
- What happens if you choose the wrong merchant account provider?
- How do you choose the most suitable travel merchant account provider?
- How do you prepare for the application process?

Why a Generic Merchant Account Isn't Suitable
Standard merchant accounts are fundamentally incompatible with the operational and financial realities of the travel sector. Their underwriting models and risk management systems are generally designed for a different type of business and can't address the unique risk factors that come with being a travel business.
This is due to the following factors:
Delay between purchase and delivery
Unlike many retailers, you sell travel experiences that customers book many months before the date of travel, with 50% of UK travelers and 28% of US travelers booking at least 4 months in advance. Generic merchant account solutions may view this gap as an unmanageable risk.
A specialized merchant account for travel businesses, on the other hand, understands you're securing future revenue and that it takes time to come to fruition.
High-ticket transactions
Accommodation, flights and tours are high-ticket transactions, meaning the financial impact of a chargeback is significantly greater than in the retail world. A standard processor's risk model is typically built for lower-value, high-volume sales and can't accommodate the financial exposure of travel-related transactions.
Chargebacks
Travel has one of the highest chargeback rates of all sectors. With many generic processors enforcing a strict, low chargeback threshold, exceeding this limit may result in penalties, such as account freezes or even account termination.
On the other hand, a travel merchant account provider understands that chargebacks are an unfortunate part of the travel industry and sets more appropriate thresholds as a result.
Vulnerability to external events
When things go wrong in the world, the travel industry is on the front line. Natural disasters, health crises and political instability can trigger mass cancellations and a wave of chargebacks.
For a standard merchant account, this level of risk exposure is simply too high. A high-risk provider specializing in travel, on the other hand, has built its models with some level of industry-wide volatility in mind.

How Do Travel Merchant Accounts Differ From Generic Ones?
Let's explore the main differences between travel merchant accounts and standard merchant accounts:
Travel's ‘high-risk’ label
Travel merchant accounts are deemed ‘high-risk.’ This classification is a direct response to the industry's business model, which includes long periods between payment and service delivery, high-value transactions and complex supplier dependencies.
Because of these factors, there's a statistically higher chance of chargebacks. This means the provider knowingly accepts a greater level of financial exposure when partnering with airlines, hotels, tour operators and travel agencies.
More rigorous underwriting
This acceptance of higher risk naturally leads to the second major difference between the two types of merchant accounts: a much more rigorous underwriting process. Unlike the comparatively fast checks for lower-risk accounts, approving a travel merchant usually involves a detailed investigation by an experienced risk analyst.
The underwriter will scrutinize your business's operational and financial health by reviewing a wide variety of documentation, including bank statements, chargeback history, supplier agreements, terms and conditions and many more.
While this process is more intensive than being accepted for a standard merchant account, its purpose is to establish a stable, long-term partnership between you and the provider.
Advanced fraud and chargeback protection
All merchant accounts offer some level of fraud protection. However, travel merchant accounts tend to go the extra mile, particularly when it comes to chargebacks. Because the sector has a high chargeback rate compared to other industries, many merchant services for travel companies will have dedicated chargeback specialists on hand to help.

What Happens If You Choose the Wrong Merchant Account Provider?
Attempting to secure a merchant account through the wrong provider can have serious consequences for your travel business, if you even manage to get accepted in the first place. Sooner or later, using the wrong provider will lead to one or more of the following:
Account freezes
Account freezes prevent any transaction from occurring. It could be as simple as a sudden spike in transaction volume that triggers an account freeze (a very standard phenomenon in the travel industry), or a few too many chargebacks (also a relatively common feature of the industry). This would put your entire business on hold, doing immense damage to your reputation and your revenue.
Account termination
If a provider decides your business is simply too risky, they may terminate your account altogether with little to no warning. This leaves you in the uncomfortable position of scrambling for a new provider, losing valuable sales in the process.
Member Alert to Control High-Risk (MATCH) List
The MATCH list is used by acquiring banks and payment processors to manage risk. Choosing the wrong payment provider may mean you end up on this list due to excessive chargebacks. Being on the MATCH list makes it extremely difficult to obtain another merchant account from any provider for several years, effectively sealing the fate of a struggling business.

How To Choose a Suitable Travel Merchant Account Provider
Choosing the most suitable merchant services for travel companies is one of the most critical business decisions you'll make. For this reason, it requires extensive research and a focus on long-term stability over immediate cost savings. Here's what you need to be looking for in a suitable travel industry merchant account:
Travel industry specialization
There's a big difference between a provider that can support a travel business and a provider that specializes in supporting travel businesses. A specialist builds their entire service model around the complexities of selling travel, meaning the underwriting team understands the nuances of your business, including:
- Seasonality
- Long lead times
- Reliance on third-party suppliers
- High-ticket transactions
- Chargebacks
However, that's not all – the expertise of travel merchant account providers extends to the payment solutions they offer. Credit card processing for travel businesses is one thing, but you also need to offer your customers a wide range of other payment methods, including digital wallets, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options, bank transfers and more.
Fraud detection and prevention
Given the high value of travel transactions, your business is a prime target for fraud. A specialist travel payment solution provider offers a robust set of security protocols to make sure your customers' payments are safe and that fraudsters don’t succeed in their efforts.
A combination of 3D Secure 2, encryption, tokenization, and a fraud system that uses travel-specific fraud rule settings, developed over years of processing travel industry bookings, keeps your customers' data and funds safe. Beyond the technology, the best providers also offer dedicated support from in-house fraud and chargeback specialists.
Cross-border, multi-currency payments
To extend the reach of your travel business, you must provide a seamless and familiar payment experience for your customers – wherever they are in the world. Your ideal travel merchant account provider will offer multi-currency processing capabilities, meaning you can display prices and accept payments in your customers' local currencies.

How To Prepare for the Travel Merchant Account Application Process
The application process for a specialized travel merchant account is essentially a business review, and being adequately prepared will increase your chances of being accepted.
Here are some tips on how to prepare:
Gather all relevant business information and documents
Before you begin your travel merchant account application, it's a good idea to organize all the information and documents you'll need. This includes but isn't limited to:
- Business registration number
- Company VAT number
- Date of formation
- Incorporation document
- Utility bill
- Office address and phone number
- Business model description
- Travel seasonality information
- Reservation system name
- Base currency requirements
- Actual annual revenue and projected annual revenue for the next 12 months
- End of year accounts
- Existing Processor Statements (ideally from the last 3 months)
Keep your accounts in good order
Your financial records provide underwriters with a clear view of your company's health, and they need assurance that you can manage your cash flow. You can demonstrate this by:
- Maintaining positive cash flow and steering clear of anything that may indicate financial risk, such as frequent low balances and the use of overdrafts.
- Use a dedicated bank account for all business-related income and expenses. Mixing personal and business funds makes it challenging for underwriters to assess your business's financial standing accurately.
Keep a close eye on chargebacks
Your company's chargeback ratio is a primary risk indicator. When it comes to partnering with a travel merchant account provider, this metric is closely scrutinized. Keeping your chargeback ratio well below the 1% industry standard threshold will increase your chances of being approved.
Now you know what to look for in a provider and how to prepare for the application process, let's explore how a leading merchant account solution puts these principles into practice.

Repayd: The Travel Merchant Account
Repayd is the leading merchant account for travel businesses. Our mission is to make global payments simple, secure and reliable for travel, hospitality and aviation businesses worldwide.
How do we do it? We combine seamless cross-border payment processing for travel companies with built-in financial protection – covering chargeback prevention, insolvency cover and risk mitigation through diversified acquiring. Trusted across the global travel ecosystem, we give your business everything it needs to grow with confidence in every market you serve.
Here's what you can look forward to when you partner with Repayd:
Lower payment processing costs
Our multi-currency payment processing for travel businesses capabilities give you the power to accept payments in multiple currencies and establish trust through secure and reliable transactions.
Accept cross-border payments with confidence
Repayd is built for global payment acceptance, allowing you to confidently grow your business – without worrying about what happens to payments when they cross borders. When you partner with us, you can feel ready to serve every customer that comes your way, regardless of where they're booking from.
Fraud detection and prevention designed for travel
Repayd's intelligent fraud detection and prevention system is designed to reduce the likelihood of both outright fraud and friendly fraud, helping you lower your chargeback ratio.
Here's how the system works:
- Our fraud monitoring system flags suspicious transactions based on cardholder characteristics.
- Dynamic fraud settings, based on your traveler's location, protect your business without compromising conversion rates.
- Benefit from specific fraud rule settings, which we've developed over years of processing bookings in the travel industry.
- Repayd's dedicated fraud specialists handle all fraud and chargeback cases, allowing you to focus on what brought you into the travel industry in the first place: delivering unforgettable travel experiences.
Easy booking integration
Getting your travel merchant services account up and running shouldn't be complex. That's why Repayd integrates directly with your existing booking system. This allows you to:
- Create and view your bookings in one place
- Keep track of all transactions
- View statements
- Know when your next payout will be (and exactly how much you will be receiving)
- Review your ledger
Plus, Repayd's analytics capabilities mean you can easily analyze transactions to see where your customers are purchasing from.
Searching for a travel merchant account provider that actually understands your needs? Contact us today to find out why Repayd is the right travel merchant account solution for your travel business.

