Tour operators and DMCs lose more margin than they realize. Small differences in supplier invoices, VCC settlement amounts, refund fees and currency movements often go unnoticed during busy periods, yet they accumulate across the season and affect profitability. These losses are rarely visible in standard accounting reports, which is why many operators underestimate the true cost of leakage. At Antravia, we work with operators who face these issues each year, and we help them understand where margin disappears and how to control it before it impacts results.

⭐ **GLOBAL TRAVEL FINANCE 2026 TO 2030

How Regulation, Liquidity and Payments Will Transform Travel Finance**

Introduction

The global travel industry is entering a new financial era. Growth has returned, but so have new pressures. Between regulation, faster payments, and rising credit risk, travel finance teams are facing the most complex operating environment in more than a decade.

This report breaks down the major forces shaping travel finance from 2026 to 2030, and what travel companies need to plan for now.

1. The Three Big Shifts Every Travel CFO Needs to Watch

1.1 Regulatory Cost Pressure

Europe’s upcoming PSD3 and Payment Services Regulation are about to raise the bar for fraud prevention, customer authentication, and data handling. These rules will require many travel companies to retire outdated systems and invest in modern, secure payment infrastructure.

This is no longer optional. Compliance is now tied to customer experience, fraud risk, and cost.

1.2 Liquidity is Getting Faster – and Harder to Manage

The shift toward Account-to-Account payments, Real-Time Payments, and instant settlement is reshaping how money moves across the industry. Travel businesses that rely on card payments will still get paid, but settlement delays will matter more as competitors switch to instant rails.

For airlines, hotels, OTAs and TMCs, real-time liquidity is becoming a competitive advantage.

1.3 B2B Credit Fragility

Global insolvencies are rising, and many travel suppliers and partners remain financially stretched. With more businesses projected to fail in 2026, travel companies need better credit-risk monitoring and stronger working-capital reserves.

B2B non-payment risk is now one of the most important financial risks in the sector.

2. Fragmentation: The New Cost Driver in Travel Finance

2.1 Geopolitical Tension Is Increasing Financial Complexity

Higher borrowing costs, slower cross-border money movement and duplicated financial systems are becoming normal. Some countries are also building their own currency rails, which may split global liquidity into different regional pools.

Treasury teams must now design for resilience, not just efficiency, with multiple payment rails and diversified banking partners.

2.2 Regulatory Divergence Adds Real Cost

AML and KYC rules differ significantly across countries. Data-localization laws require certain financial data to stay inside national borders. This stops global businesses from centralizing compliance processes and increases operational costs.

Larger companies are responding by creating “Know Your Partner” standards to ensure smaller vendors can meet rising compliance requirements.

2.3 Why Treasury Centralization Matters More Than Ever

Many travel groups are consolidating bank accounts and liquidity into central treasury hubs. The most effective way to do this in a fragmented world is through technology.

Payment Orchestration Platforms help large hotel groups and travel businesses manage global routing, authorization, reporting and reconciliation in one place. They allow companies to stay compliant locally while keeping global oversight.

3. The Liquidity Revolution: How New Payment Rails Will Reshape Travel

3.1 Account-to-Account and Open Banking

Open Banking is giving travel companies a faster, cheaper way to collect payments. A2A payments bypass card schemes, reduce Payment Acceptance Costs, and settle immediately.

For high-volume merchants, the working-capital benefits are significant.

3.2 Real-Time Payments and Embedded Commerce

Real-Time Payments allow money to move within seconds. When combined with embedded payments inside booking journeys, this creates seamless, invisible transactions.

B2B travel settlement also benefits. Instant data and fund flow remove reconciliation delays and remove dependence on slow bank transfers.

3.3 The BNPL Paradox

Buy Now, Pay Later has exploded in travel and increases conversion. But it shifts credit risk and regulatory exposure onto providers. With regulators reviewing the BNPL sector more closely, travel companies must ensure their BNPL partners have strong compliance frameworks.

4. Modern Airline Settlement: From Legacy to Order-Based

4.1 Why NDC and ONE Order Matter for Finance

NDC and ONE Order give airlines full control over retailing and create a single order record instead of fragmented tickets. This improves data quality and makes it easier to understand revenue, cost and profitability at product level.

But to unlock the full benefit, payment and settlement systems must support real-time processing.

4.2 Settlement with Orders: Significant Efficiency Gains

IATA’s Settlement with Orders standard automates reconciliation and links settlement directly to the order. Early corporate travel adopters report savings of more than 3 percent per ticket.

The financial case for shifting away from legacy ticket-based systems is clear.

4.3 Adoption Barriers

Some travel management companies remain tied to legacy GDS workflows. Technology gaps and commercial incentives slow adoption. CFOs and travel managers should quantify the cost of staying on legacy settlement models to justify investment.

5. Emerging Risks Every Travel Business Must Prepare For

5.1 Insolvency Risk in the B2B Supply Chain

Global insolvencies are rising, creating counterparty risk for travel sellers and suppliers. Companies must increase credit monitoring and maintain higher liquidity buffers to withstand partner failures.

5.2 Technical Debt and Cybersecurity

Legacy systems restrict automation and increase vulnerability. Catastrophic cyber events involving operational systems could cause enormous financial losses. Boards must treat cybersecurity spending as capital investment, not IT cost.

5.3 PSD3 and PSR Will Require Mandatory Technology Replacement

Europe’s new payment rules will require modern authentication, better fraud controls and upgraded payment infrastructure. Companies that do not update systems risk higher fraud losses and customer abandonment.

5.4 ESG Becoming a Finance Mandate

New sustainability reporting requirements push ESG responsibility into the finance function. CFOs must balance short-term offset costs with long-term investment in sustainable technology and fuel, while preparing for carbon price volatility.

6. Strategic Recommendations for 2026 to 2030

6.1 Modernise Treasury Systems

• Retire technical debt

• Adopt API-first payment infrastructure

• Use payment orchestration to manage global complexity

6.2 Strengthen B2B Credit Risk Processes

• Use dynamic credit-scoring models

• Monitor regional insolvency trends

• Diversify high-risk supplier or partner exposure

6.3 Improve Liquidity Management

• Accelerate adoption of A2A and Real-Time Payments

• Improve cash-flow forecasting

• Automate reconciliation

• Link NDC adoption to treasury KPIs

6.4 Treat Compliance as a Competitive Advantage

• Integrate PSD3 and PSR into treasury plans

• Reduce customer friction while meeting Strong Customer Authentication

• Embed ESG into capital-allocation decisions

Conclusion

The next five years will reshape how travel companies move money, manage risk and invest in technology. Liquidity, compliance and credit risk are merging into one strategic challenge. The winners will be the companies that modernise early, strengthen financial resilience and embrace faster, smarter payment infrastructure.

Travel finance is becoming a competitive differentiator. Companies that treat it strategically will set the pace for the industry through 2030.