Secure Travel Agency Payment Processing.

A travel merchant account enables you to provide a hassle-free experience for customers seeking vacation packages and tours. You can offer local payment methods or allow clients to book in their preferred currency, all with lower processing costs.

The travel sector is considered a high-risk industry for a few reasons:

• There are frequent chargebacks as travelers cancel their vacations, resulting in lost revenue.
• The delay between purchase and fulfillment increases the risk of chargebacks and other payment challenges, such as failed bank transfers.
• Travel packages are typically high-value transactions, resulting in higher payment processing costs.
• Natural disasters, political instability, and economic downturns can significantly impact travel agents and customers worldwide, resulting in substantial lost revenue.
• With travel credit card processing, customers may forget to transfer funds, leading to declined payments.

Adaptiv Payments offers the best travel merchant account available on the market. We are a dedicated high-risk merchant account vendor working in industries that other payment processing businesses won’t touch.

There are significant advantages to choosing us over other high-risk processors. With our payment solutions, you’ll enjoy lower fees, competitive pricing, and faster payments. Additionally, we provide customized chargeback solutions and 24/7 expert support for a fantastic customer experience.

Yes, travel agents and vacation companies can accept credit cards. However, because these are high-risk accounts, you need tailored solutions designed specifically for the travel industry. Traditional payment processors may not work with these companies because of the high risk of fraud and chargebacks.

We provide a seamless payment experience for nearly any business in the travel sector, including:

• Travel agents
• Tour guides
• Tour agencies
• Vacation package vendors
• Hotels, motels, and resorts
• Airlines and transportation companies
• Car rental companies
• Reservation companies
• Travel clubs and memberships
• Online booking platforms
• Travel insurance agencies
• Travel marketing firms

With a travel merchant account from Adaptiv Payments, you can manage the entire process of accepting payments from one simple dashboard. We help you optimize payment performance by mitigating chargebacks, which reduces your lost revenue and encourages faster business growth.

As the travel industry encompasses a broad range of services, there are numerous MCC codes for this sector that are designated by credit card companies. These include the following.

Airlines and Air Carriers

• Airlines, such as JetBlue: 3000-3299
• Air Carriers and airlines not otherwise specified: 4511
• Airports, terminals, and flying fields: 4582

Car Rental Agencies

• Specific car rental agencies, like Alamo: 3351-3441
• Car rental companies not otherwise specified: 7512

Lodging and Hospitality

• Specific hotels, motels, and resorts: 3500-3999
• Lodging not otherwise specified: 7011
• Timeshares: 7012
• Sport and recreational camps: 7032
• Campgrounds and trailer parks: 7033

Transportation Services

• Railroads, commuter transit, taxis, limousines, buses, couriers, warehousing, cruises, boats, marinas, and others: 4000-4799

Travel Agencies and Tour Operators

• Travel agencies and tour operators: 4722
• Package tours (Germany only): 4723

You can start there, but it's risky. Stripe prohibits airlines, cruises and timeshares and restricts travel reservation services and clubs. PayPal requires pre-approval for airlines and charter operators. Square bans membership clubs. Many travel businesses get frozen when bookings spike or disputes land months after the sale.

Yes. Multi-currency processing lets you show prices in the traveler's currency and settle in yours, which cuts confusion at checkout and helps you sell to international travelers.

Yes. You can accept cards from international travelers and show prices in their own currency, then settle in US dollars. Cross-border transactions carry extra card network fees and more fraud risk, so we set up fraud tools for foreign cards and price your account for the mix of domestic and international payments you expect.

Yes. With a virtual terminal you enter the traveler's card in your browser, so you can take phone and email bookings without a website checkout.

To get approved for a travel merchant account, you will need to provide proof of business operations and income. Documents we may request include:

• Articles of incorporation
• Business license
• Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Government-issued photo ID
• Tax returns
• Business bank account statements from all revenue streams
• Payment types accepted

When you contact us, we’ll discuss our payment solutions, explain the authorization rates and fees, and then work with you to build a customized payment strategy based on your customer’s specific needs.

Most travel accounts are approved within a few business days once your documents and website are complete. The process covers submitting your application, reviewing your business details, underwriting the account and connecting it to your booking engine or checkout.

Our team will keep you updated on the entire process, from start to finish, including when your account will be available and how to track your payments.

The acquiring bank that backs your account looks at how far ahead travelers book, your average ticket, your refund and cancellation policy, your Seller of Travel registrations and your processing history. The approval process goes faster when your website shows clear pricing, terms and your registration numbers.

If you sell to travelers in California, Florida, Washington or Hawaii, usually yes. California and Florida also cover sellers based in other states that sell to their residents, and both want your registration number in your ads. California, Washington and Hawaii require a trust account or a bond for money travelers pay before their trip. Underwriters will ask for your numbers.

Only if you issue airline tickets yourself. Advisors who book through a host agency or consolidator ticket under that company's accreditation. CLIA is a cruise trade association, not a license.

Yes, if your registrations are in place and your website shows clear pricing, terms and a cancellation policy. New agencies without processing history may start with lower monthly limits or a reserve that comes down as you build history.

Often, yes. Many travel businesses come to us after Stripe, Square or PayPal froze their account. We look at why it happened and what's changed. We also work with merchants on the MATCH list.

Yes. We work with timeshare developers, resorts and vacation ownership companies under MCC 7012.

Yes. We approve travel clubs and memberships, with recurring billing monthly or annually. Keep clear consent at signup, renewal reminders and easy online cancellation to meet Visa's rules and state auto-renewal laws.

There are no setup or application fees.

As one of the leading companies for high-risk merchant payment solutions, we provide some of the lowest payment fees on the market. When you contact us to discuss our travel payment processing, we’ll explain our fee structure. Payment fees we may charge include:

• Interchange fees
• Monthly maintenance fees

For travel merchant accounts, we may charge conversion fees. There may also be retrieval fees if we need to request documentation for a specific transaction.

No. There are no setup fees or application fees.

It depends on how far ahead you sell and your history. Because travel is paid for before it's delivered, many travel accounts carry a rolling reserve. Merchants with a clean history and short booking windows often start with a low reserve or none.

It depends on your terms. Some travel accounts are funded at booking with a reserve; others release funds closer to the travel date. You see your funding schedule before you sign.

Yes. Most travel merchants take a deposit at booking and charge the balance on its due date with the card on file, with the traveler's consent. Put the schedule and your cancellation terms in the confirmation email.

Reducing chargebacks on your travel merchant account is crucial, as high chargeback rates can result in bank account terminations and lower customer satisfaction. Follow these steps to improve your chargeback rates.

• Develop a clear and transparent cancellation policy.
• Send order confirmations and reminder emails to ensure customers haven’t forgotten about their booking.
• Enable real-time chargeback monitoring to promptly reach out to customers and negotiate a solution.
• Deliver a superior customer experience and consistently respond to customer needs.
• Use secure payment gateways, such as those that require inputting AVS or CVV.
• Enable 3D Secure 2.0 to mitigate fraud.
• Offer alternative payment methods beyond credit cards for those who would prefer to pay by debit or cash.
• Analyze chargeback data to identify trends and workshop solutions.
• Track IP addresses and locations to identify suspicious payments.

Good chargeback management makes a significant difference in successful travel payment processing. Adaptiv offers these benefits for all travel merchant accounts, creating a one-stop shop for everything a travel company needs.

Visa's VAMP program flags merchants at a 1.5% fraud-and-dispute ratio with at least 1,500 disputes and fraud reports in a month, and Mastercard starts at 1.5% and 100 chargebacks. Banks usually act well before that, so aim to stay under 1%.

Show the cancellation policy the traveler agreed to, when they cancelled and what you refunded under it. Cancellation disputes come in under Visa reason code 13.7, and your accepted terms are the key evidence. Chargebacks for trips that did happen fall under 13.1, where confirmations and supplier records win the case.

Yes, when you're the merchant of record for the ticket. If a flight is cancelled or significantly changed and the traveler doesn't accept an alternative, the refund is due within 7 business days on card purchases, and travelers must be told about their refund right before being offered a credit.