26th August, 2022
Airlines and acquirers have become more judicious in their understanding of risk assessment and also how to mitigate financial risk during times of heightened volatility. Companies were stuck during the course of refunds being more than sales, and a result, the flow of funds going in one direction for decades had to be engineered to go in the opposition direction.
Worldpay’s VP – Airlines, Travel & Hospitality, Thomas Helldorff spoke about the experience and now being prepared better for the future.
Helldorff spoke about several topics including:
- Significance of collaboration
- Rebuilding/ expanding payments teams again
- Dealing with a situation marked by more refunds than sales
- What did it take to get back on track – getting process in order again once the situation went out of control?
- Focus on interaction between the credit risk team and airline’s finance team. “The case of not having enough information is tough to deal with. Knowledge helps,” said Helldorff, underlining the importance of communication.
- Payment can’t be side-lined. It has to be a core strategic function. “It has to be embedded in the overall strategy of the organisation,” he said, explaining how various departments such as finance, distribution etc. have to work hand in hand with this discipline.
- Double dip: “If a customer was informed and assured about their money, the situation would be have been much better,” pointed out Helldorff.
- Gearing up for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), issued by government-led central banks.
By Ritesh Gupta, Ai Events
