The role of technology in security and fraud prevention

By Intuitive Sales & Marketing Director Jackie Groves

Constant advances in technology – such as the move towards remote payments and transactions – has had a huge impact on the travel industry. Swiftly evolving tech allows travel agents and OTAs to be agile and responsive, maximising time efficiency and profits. Yet, this also means travel companies must always be ready to adapt quickly to stay ahead of the game.

This is particularly pertinent when fraudsters are developing new techniques at an alarming rate, just as new fraud prevention methods become more effective. In fraud prevention, travel companies should always have the security of bookings front of mind and state-of-the-art technology is vital. For example, interactive voice response (IVR), which has now been implemented for customers of our flagship product iVector, allows travel agents and OTAs to take secure payments over the phone. As well as making their call centres more efficient, this is crucial for customer security and peace of mind.

IVR provides secure automated support for the customers of travel agents and OTAs around the world. The technology gives customers booking a holiday through an agent the choice of either manually reading out their card details or going through to the digital IVR system. Those who choose IVR will follow automated instructions to input their details using their keypad before being transferred back to the agent to complete the booking.

Offering IVR capabilities, which ensures bookings are more securely protected than live phone support, allows travel agents and OTAs to protect and reassure their customers. Now the majority of holidaymakers don’t make bookings face to face with their agent, but rather over the phone or via the internet, the customer’s trust in the business is a huge factor in who they will book with. In an industry where margins are tight, travel agents and OTAs can’t afford security concerns to drive business to competitors.

When using IVR, phone calls are temporarily directed to an external and completely secure automated payment function, which means users don’t have to share sensitive financial information with a real person and lowers the risk associated with the transaction. Once implemented, a travel company would expect to direct 95 per cent of their call centre bookings to IVR.

IVR is also an important part of assisting travel companies to meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance standards, which require all companies that process or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Remaining PCI compliant improves both payment security and customers’ trust in the business.

Automation also reduces the time customer service representatives need to dedicate to processing each booking and allows travel agents and OTAs to be smarter with resourcing. This makes call centres, which can be a costly and time intensive way of processing bookings, more efficient.

Time is money and travel agents need to keep a careful eye on the bottom line. When the technology is available to improve a travel agent’s margins, it would be wasteful not to invest in it. IVR enables travel companies to bring down overall running costs, increase margins and price products more competitively. What’s more, the system inspires customer confidence in the security of their payment, by removing the inherent risk of customers having to share sensitive information with a stranger over the phone. This is crucial as customers worried about the safety of their booking will be less likely to go through with the transaction.

So, utilising technology that inspires the confidence that bookings will be safe and secureand ensures customers are more likely to book, is key to business success.

Intuitive is a progressive travel technology company. Launched in 2005, intuitive’s flagship product, iVector, is a 100% web-based end-to-end reservation platform used across the travel industry, from modern tour operators to online travel agents and accommodation wholesalers.