Travellers abandon bookings when their preferred way to pay is missing. In India, that might be UPI for a quick bus ticket, a credit card EMI for an expensive holiday, or an international card for a foreign customer. Each method has different costs, success rates and refund behaviour. This guide explains the main payment methods for travel websites and how to choose the right mix.
UPI
- Strengths: very popular in India, fast, works on every smartphone, familiar to customers.
- Watch out for: transaction limits that may be lower than the cost of expensive bookings; pending payments that confirm late.
- Best for: flights, buses, hotels and most domestic bookings.
Debit and credit cards
- Strengths: high limits, accepted worldwide, credit cards offer rewards that travellers value.
- Watch out for: higher processing costs on some cards, and 3-D Secure steps that can fail on poor connections.
- Best for: higher-value bookings and international customers.
Net banking
Still used by some customers, especially for large payments, though it involves redirects to bank pages that can time out. Offer it as an option, but expect a smaller share of payments than UPI or cards.
Wallets
Consumer wallets can be convenient for repeat customers and small payments. Separately, your own platform wallet, used by agents or for customer refunds, can make re-booking instant. Make sure customers can still receive refunds to their original method when they prefer.
EMI and pay later
Card EMI and buy-now-pay-later options make expensive holidays and international trips more affordable. They can lift conversion for high-value packages, though costs and eligibility vary by provider, so present them clearly at checkout.
International cards and currencies
If you sell to customers outside India, you need a gateway that accepts international cards and, ideally, shows prices in the customer's currency. Check foreign exchange costs and settlement currency, and make sure fraud checks are tuned for international traffic.
How payment method affects refunds
Refunds generally go back to the original method, and timelines differ by method and bank. Explain expected timelines in your refund emails. For agents, crediting refunds to their portal wallet is usually fastest.
Designing the payment page
- Show the most popular methods first, usually UPI and cards.
- Remember the customer's last method if they log in.
- Keep the page focused, with the booking summary visible.
- Explain clearly what happens if a payment is pending.
Handling pending payments
Some payments, especially UPI and net banking, can stay pending for a while before confirming. Your system should not issue a ticket until payment is confirmed, but it should also not give up too early. Use the gateway's status checks and webhooks to confirm or fail the payment, and refund automatically if confirmation arrives after the booking was released.
In practice: raising payment success rates
An agency noticed many failed payments on bookings above a certain amount. Analysis showed customers were trying UPI for expensive international flights and hitting limits. The agency started showing cards and EMI first for high-value bookings and UPI first for smaller ones. Payment success rose without changing gateways.
Frequently asked questions
Should we use more than one gateway?
Many larger portals use two gateways: one as primary and one as backup, or each for the methods it handles best.
Can we pass gateway charges to customers?
Some businesses add a convenience fee by method. Make any fee clear before payment and follow applicable rules.
Key takeaways
- Offer UPI, cards and net banking at minimum; add EMI for high-value trips.
- Order payment methods by booking value and customer type.
- Handle pending payments carefully to avoid lost or duplicate bookings.
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