The 2026 Online Travel Research Research Report released today shows that adding diverse payment options directly increases checkout conversions and increased basket size.

This is one of the findings of The future of travel in South Africa: How travellers discover, book and pay, commissioned by leading African payment service provider Peach Payments and South Africa’s fastest-growing flexible payment provider PayJustNow. Conducted by Phocuswright, the research involved one-on-one interviews with key executives in the travel and tourism sector about the use of online payment technologies by South African consumers.

Digital wallets drive rapid checkouts

Digital wallets are rapidly becoming the preferred choice for South Africans, with nearly 4 in 10 (39%) citing them as the fastest payment option in research by Visa. Flight booking company Travelwings, for instance, found that adding Apple Pay and Google Pay led to a “sudden uptick in transactions”, highlighting that removing friction at the point of purchase is key to driving conversion.

“The rapidly expanding Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) sector is increasingly playing the same role,”

says Daniel Hawkins, Executive Head of Marketing at PayJustNow

Another finding is that industry leaders like Travelstart increased their BNPL share from 3% to 6% in just one year.

“BNPL is playing a critical role in boosting loyalty and expanding access to more travellers who want cashflow-friendly payment options to secure their purchase,”

says Daniel Hawkins

BNPL boosts loyalty and expands access

Other industry experts polled in the research note that mobile money is essential because it allows customers to interact online rather than travelling long distances to physical shops to pay. Africa is the global epicentre for mobile money, accounting for 74% of all mobile money transactions worldwide. Market leaders like M-Pesa now have over 40 million users in Kenya alone, providing a vital bridge for consumers who prefer digital balances over physical cash.

“As travel demand evolves in South Africa, payments will be a key area of focus for companies looking to improve conversion and better serve customer needs. Success will depend less on any single payment method and more on reducing friction across the booking process,”

says Mitra Sorrells, SVP content at Phocuswright

Mobile money bridges the gap for digital balances

Adding diverse payment options may attract more consumers, but it presents challenges for merchants. Travel finance teams describe managing multiple payment providers as a “nightmare” that often requires excessive headcount to manage. Disparate data formats and varying commission rates make automated reconciliation nearly impossible for scaling businesses. The research identified that merchants solve this through sophisticated payment orchestration and recon APIs from payment service providers.

“These solutions talk to multiple backend providers to ensure the settlement process is seamless,”

says Peach Payments CEO Rahul Jain.

Solving the merchant ‘nightmare’ of multiple integrations

Digital wallets pose a different challenge – travel providers say international settlements for these wallets can lead to costly exchange rate conversions for the buyer. 

Another challenge for international transactions is that many fail in South Africa due to 3D Secure (3DS) technicalities. This may force consumers to attempt payments multiple times, increasing frustration. Researchers suggest that merchants look for PSPs that manage real-time risk checking, are PCI DSS Level 1 certified and optimise for African banking rails to ensure high authorisation rates and local settlement.

The full research findings are being made available to the travel industry to assist merchants in optimising their websites, Jain says. The full research report is also available for download at here.

About Phocuswright

Phocuswright is the travel industry research authority on how travellers, suppliers, and intermediaries connect. For over two decades, the company has delivered independent, objective research and data to the global travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. Phocuswright provides actionable insights to travel executives through syndicated research, custom research, and highly targeted industry events. To foster a global community, Phocuswright also produces several high-profile conferences connecting innovators, executives, and investors. Phocuswright is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northstar Travel Group. For more information, visit www.phocuswright.com.

About PayJustNow

PayJustNow is an innovative payment platform, offering flexible retail payment options that serve an audience of over 3.5 million customers and 3,000 directly integrated merchants. The platform is changing the face of South Africa’s retail landscape, delivering convenience and accessibility to the consumer, while driving retail sales and improving customer retention for the merchant. The company has an 80% repeat customer rate and is signing on 100,000 new customers a month. PayJustNow is backed by fintech giant Weaver Fintech, and incorporated into its ecosystem of digital financial services, embedded finance, and payments. For more information visit www.payjustnow.com.