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February 24, 2026
News
April 03, 2026
Payment challenges in the Hospitality industry
The hospitality industry today faces a range of payment-related challenges that directly affect profitability and guest satisfaction. High payment fees and chargebacks are causing more and more headaches. But luckily, there are new and improved payment options that increase revenue and improve guest experiences.
Payment challenges in the Hospitality industry
Key Challenges
- High Card Processing Fees: A large portion of revenue is lost to card network fees.
- Chargebacks: Revenue loss from disputed card payments.
- Delayed Settlements: Guest payments often take 3–7 days to settle.
- Manual Compliance: Verifying accounts and meeting AML, KYC regulations requires time and resources.
- Fraud: Traditional card payments are vulnerable to misuse.
One of the biggest issues is the high cost of card payments. Card fees quietly cut into profits, often ranging between 1.5% and 3.5% per transaction. These fees are paid to various intermediaries, card networks, and payment gateways, which reduce net revenue on each transaction. According to data, merchants paid over €149 billion in card processing fees in 2023 alone, and a considerable share of that came from the hospitality sector.
In 2023 alone, the hospitality sector faced roughly €23.25 billion in chargeback volume. While originally intended as consumer protection for unauthorized or failed services, chargebacks are now frequently misused, in cases of so-called friendly fraud. For room rentals, even when the services are completed, companies often end up losing both the revenue and the room.
Settlement delays are another concern. It can take multiple days to receive guest payments, even after check-in or checkout. This disrupts cash flow, making it harder to pay vendors, cover payroll, and manage day-to-day finances.
Fliqa Solution for the Hospitality industry
Key solutions
- Lower Payment Costs: Transparent pricing with fees up to 50% lower than traditional card payments.
- No Chargebacks: FLIQA eliminates the chargeback mechanism.
- Instant Settlement: Payments are confirmed and settled in real time.
- Verified Payouts: Payments are sent only from verified bank accounts, ensuring compliance and reducing fraud risk.
- Full Regulatory Compliance: FLIQA supports PSD2, GDPR, AML, and KYC requirements.
FLIQA’s Pay-by-Bank solution enables guests to pay directly from their bank accounts through a secure interface, eliminating the need for third-party intermediaries. This approach removes card processing fees, reducing costs up to 50%. This also means removing the chargeback mechanism entirely. Payments are processed in real time or within a few hours, allowing you to confirm bookings instantly and improve cash flow.
Every transaction requires strong customer authentication (SCA), meaning the risk of fraud is substantially reduced. This not only enhances security but also ensures ongoing compliance with financial regulations without additional overhead.
FLIQA also provides full transparency across all transactions. Each payment includes detailed data such as timestamps, payer identity, and status tracking.
By streamlining payment operations and reducing complexity, you can dedicate more resources toward enhancing guest experience.
