Page 60 - World Airnews Magazine January 2021 Edition

NEWS DIGITAL

AFRICA TRAVEL: THE JOURNEY

TOWARDS DIGITISING PAYMENTS

The study showed that most travel companies use between
three to 10 outside PSPs, with only 8% relying on just two. Four
From Nigeria to South Africa and all the countries around and out of 10 travel operators admitted to having trouble managing
multiple PSPs, with nearly half (49%) of them citing the complexity
in-between, transportation stakeholders in Africa are increasingly of their existing payments system as a hindrance. In addition,
leaning on emerging technologies in commuting applications, travel companies spend a weighted average total cost of about
customer data information management, and payments to find 5.4% of their revenues, representing approximately $75 billion on
innovative solutions that will deliver a seamless service delivery their payments systems.
for their customers. Those issues mainly result from a lack of interoperability among
This continent’s wide quest to leverage technology has become mobile money operators, low credit card uptakes, and preference
imperative, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key players towards local debit cards making payments processing in Africa
in aviation, port, rail and road sub-sectors are seeking to alleviate difficult. This struggle is further compounded by the absence of
the many pain points that afflict the industry, while enabling a common African currency which, for airlines or hotels with a
seamless and efficient systems alongside a passenger experience presence in multiple countries, increases the turnaround payment
that will usher in development and sustainable prosperity for processing and settlement period.
operators. These problems extend to other means of transportation across
However, there is a worrying sluggishness to the adoption of the continent, but which incidentally are effectively being resolved
digital payment solutions across the continent. This is not unrelat- with universal digital payment solutions that create seamless
ed to a number of irksome issues around the payment experience payment experience for passengers on one hand, and smoother
such as stressful processes and a question of trust, which have business operations for operators, on the other hand.
combined to complicate matters for travel passengers. For “Digitizing the public transport sector is inevitable (to evolve
example, while most frequent air travellers know that purchasing and transform the industry) in a way that both the governments
tickets online is not only more affordable than buying over the and transport companies, as well as everyday commuting public
counter, it is also far more convenient, but many passengers still can gain from its implementation as it affects not just aviation, but
put up with the stress of physical purchases. ground transportation, Logistics, etc,” Patrick Buchana Nsenga,
On the other side of this dichotomy is the difficulty occasioned Founder & CEO, AC Group noted during an industry Webinar event
by that same fragmented nature of ancillary services associated hosted by Cellulant.
with the industry and the corresponding challenges travel Incidentally, Payment Service Providers like Cellulant are
companies themselves endure in managing the multiple Payment investing in building the infrastructure that will address the
Service Providers (PSPs) who power the many platforms for those struggles for the travel sector to reduce the number of PSPs that
various offerings connected to the aviation industry, and entire travel companies deploy to just one or two, while also improving
transportation ecosystem. the customers’ experience through an integrated simplified
A case in point was an unpleasant incident in 2010 when an Aero payment system.
Contractors flight from Lagos to Abuja was delayed because the Most recently, Cellulant has expanded its digital payments
aircraft had more passengers than it could carry legitimately. This platform to better serve sectors such as the airlines industry. They
scenario was a direct result of the airline’s inability to accurately have partnered with airlines such as Kenya Airways to provide
account for the number of passengers that had booked online a variety of mobile and bank payment options to its customers
across various platforms due also to an absence of an integrated paying for bookings online.
operations and payment platform. Though that era has passed, the The success of this first-of-its-kind payment solution in Kenya
incident left scars on many people who would rather now pay cash. further sparked the transformation drive that has seen Cellulant
Still in Nigeria, the administration of former Governor Abiola forge ahead to power local and international payment methods for
Ajimobi of Oyo State, established a public transport system called local, regional and global airlines across Africa.,
Ajumose similar to the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) in Lagos, which Particularly driving Cellulant’s committed intervention in the
leverages digital payment for seamless operations. Unlike the travel industry is the customer insight that the increasingly mobile
Lagos’ approach, which has, to some extent, succeeded, that of and internet penetration on the continent is resulting in the
Oyo State is flailing and almost moribund because of fraud and modern African consumer developing heightened appetites for
ticket racketeering. on-the-go payment methods that put all transactional solutions
The Oyo model could have fared better if there was a unified at-their-fingertips.
payment system for cashless payments that would have eliminated In Nigeria, more travel companies are beginning to see payments
the issues. innovation as a long-term investment. Payments Services Providers
Putting the issues into proper perspective is a 2018 Study Report such as Cellulant with a local and pan-African reach will be great
by PYMNTs.com and Amadeus, on Payments Travel, which revealed partners to airline operators and inter-state transport companies
that the struggle for travel companies is real when it comes to looking to expand their businesses and offer seamless payments
managing PSPs. solutions to their customers. Q

World Airnews | January Extra 2021
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