The Open Payment Alliance (OPA) keeps moving along. Recently, the two main sectoral associations that promote the OPA, Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) and the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA), have published the phase II comprehensive specification and schema messages document.
These new specifications support, among others, the commission payments from a hotel to its booking partner. Thereby, the OPA moves along the simplification and automation payment processes, also in the indirect distribution channels. OPA’s main goal is to standardize the way payments are processed today, improving operational efficiencies for hotels while providing a better check-in experience to travelers.
B2B payment channel today
Payment innovations have not evolved at the same pace as some other technologies, such as the distribution channel, due to their complexity. With many forms of payment used in the indirect sales channel, each one of them comes with different payment and processing instructions which ultimately lead to inefficiencies and overhead costs.
These inefficiencies may include:
- Use of a technology that does not always support the transmission of payment data required for compliance and regulatory reasons
- Post-booking reservation changes that can not be communicated.
- Limited or non-existing technology to transmit payment instructions.
- Loss of revenue or extra costs due to manual and legacy processes and technology.
In order to find a solution to all these problems, the Open Payments Alliance first defined the role of a ‘Payment Manager,’ a solution that transforms payable data into instructions to automatically initiate and settle payments between two parties. The Payment Manager is a solutions exclusively designed for the travel industry that allow travel companies to streamline payments. The payment instructions that travel between a provider and a client through the Payment Manager specify the terms for which payment for a given booking should be executed, and enable the flow of money into the intended recipient’s bank account, among many others travel industry specifications.
Voxel boosts the OPA through the Early Adopters Program
Voxel has developed the first Payment Manager on the market following the specifications set by the Open Payment Alliance. And, to drive adoption of this standard among companies in the industry, Voxel has launched two Early Adopters Programs in collaboration with Mastercard.
Nowadays, more than 20 companies in the sector, including Palladium Hotel Group, Hotusa Group, TUI Iberia, Odeon Tours, Juniper and MTS Globe are already developing the connection to the baVel Payment Manager and will soon begin to exchange payment instructions.
Are you interested in discovering the new B2B payment channel for the travel industry? Drop us a line at [email protected]
