Partner for Growth: MultiPay’s bespoke customer service helps European travel company quickly scale as bookings boom post-pandemic
- February 10, 2023
Elevator pitch:
With the easing of travel restrictions across Europe following the COVID-19 pandemic, the award-winning family of 40 international travel and hospitality brands, The Travel Corporation (TTC), needed a payments solution provider capable of supporting its return to growth with superior technology whilst also being flexible enough to support its on-the-move workforce of Travel Directors (TDs).
In response, where previously two devices were needed, MultiPay’s solution enables TDs to take payments for customer excursions quickly and easily in both sterling and euros from a single device. In addition, its bespoke customer service provides a unique set-up for TTC where TDs have 24/7/365 on-hand support, the ability to setup and address common issues on-the-move and MultiPay can supply TTC with new terminals as and when required to anywhere in Europe within 48hrs.
An initial trial with 50 devices has now grown to a full contract that covers 400 devices. Feedback from TD’s has also been overwhelmingly positive, with MultiPay receiving multiple compliments, including one TD giving the service and devices “10 thumbs up”.
Challenge:
With the easing of travel restrictions following a 70% fall in international tourism to Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Travel Corporation (TTC) needed a customer service and payments solution that could quickly scale with the business and support its on-the-move workforce of Travel Directors as bookings boomed and the company welcomed back customers.
Flexibility and speed are especially important in the travel and tourism sector, and TTC is no exception. Travel Directors need to take payments for excursions whilst travelling from place to place with the flexibility to process transactions in both pounds and euros, as well as receive updates to handle other currencies when needed. To do this, Travel Directors not only need a highly reliable payment system but also a bespoke level of customer support that increases their self-sufficiency and can quickly resolve issues to prevent any loss of revenue and negative consumer experience.
Against the backdrop of a worldwide chip shortage, TTC needed a payment provider which could also ensure supply would not be interrupted with quick access to a stock of terminals able to be shipped directly to Travel Directors in the field, regardless of their location. At the same time, TTC also needed to reduce the training time to onboard Travel Directors with a payment terminal, as the longer the training process took the less time Travel Directors will have in planning for trips and delivering a first-class customer experience.
Solution:
MultiPay’s single API and commitment to customer service meant we could quickly build a new bespoke payment solution based on TTC’s requirements, ensuring it benefited from the latest payment innovations.
With a dedicated account management team at MultiPay, the setup was tailored to fit the specific requirements of TTC with a unique setup for continuous 24/7 ongoing customer support. Just as MultiPay’s technology was developed to fit TTC’s specific needs, so too was its support and customer service. This includes a bespoke user guide tailored to help Travel Directors troubleshoot problems on the move, a dedicated 24/7 support team that could be contacted by phone, email and text message for ease of communication with TDs when they are out in the field.
Where previously, Travel Directors had to use two devices to collect payments in sterling and euros, now thanks to MultiPay’s solution, one device can be used to manage transactions in any currency.
Key to the success of the project is MultiPay’s agility and flexibility which ensures it can deliver the right technology and service TTC needs within a short timeframe. From its distribution hub in Milan, MultiPay can send terminals to TTC’s headquarters in Rome with ease, and to individual Travel Directors anywhere within Europe at short notice.
MultiPay’s solution can also work on any payment terminal. As such, TTC is not locked-in with just a single terminal type. Furthermore, MultiPay’s single API and reconciliation point ensures that TTC will be able to stay current with emerging payment methods. MultiPay’s end-to-end payment platform can accept all major card providers, mobile payment methods including WeChat and Alipay, as well as alternative payment methods such as crypto, bank-to-bank transfers, and instant payments.
Results:
Following a successful trial of 50 terminals in December 2021:
- By July 2022, TTC has nearly 400 touchscreen payment terminals able to accept both sterling and euro payments
- MultiPay’s agility to supply terminals at short notice anywhere within Europe and its bespoke approach to customer support has helped TTC scale as it rebounds to meet unprecedented levels of demand
- Scaled to support and process 250 transactions on average per day across 41 counties in multiple currencies
- Significantly reduced time spent by TTC internal team dealing with payment terminal set up, onboarding and problem solving
- MultiPay’s single API and reconciliation point ensures that TTC will be able to stay current with emerging payment methods
- TTC’s operating costs have been reduced with a 50% reduction in POS hardware costs
In an industry still liable to impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, TTC now has one less thing to worry about while helping facilitate business growth during a time of uncertainty and regrowth
Key quotes:
“We see MultiPay as a partner for growth. Rebuilding our business following the pandemic relies on us being able to deliver a superior customer experience for our guests. By providing a service and solution that meets our exact and unique needs, keeping us engaged at every step and knowing our business inside-out, MultiPay enables us to do just that. The travel sector is extremely fast-paced, and the service MultiPay provides operates with the speed and agility we need to ensure payments run smoothly with minimal disruption. MultiPay’s continuing commitment to innovation and delivering the best payment solutions and customer service is vital to supporting our development now and into the years ahead”
Target audience:
Merchants in travel and tourism, cross-border merchants with large, mobile, and disparate workforces
Spokespeople:
Sasha Stander, Assistant Manager for EMEA Operations, The Travel Corporation