Last year countries everywhere lifted the travel restrictions that were implemented due to COVID-19. Businesses from airlines to hotels, online travel agencies to local tour operators capitalised on the travel uptick. Concurrently, protecting travellers from scams, and providing security as an added layer on transactions became a top priority for travel merchants.
To discuss best practices for merchants in the travel industry, Phoram Mehta, Senior Director, PayPal APAC Chief Information Security Officer, joined the hosts of The Breakfast Huddle on their Travel Thursday episode. In addition to merchant best practices, Phoram highlighted how concerns about security and credibility start much earlier for travelers. Given the varied sources of information and a wide variety of travel merchants, it is vital to select trusted sources like government websites to authenticate the merchant before booking travel packages.
Sharing his insights on customer security, Phoram said, “Once the authenticity of the store is verified, there are other aspects travelers should pay attention to. If it sounds too good to be true – especially at a time like this when everyone is trying to go for same kind of packages – travelers must stop, slow down and think twice before giving out personal information. One of the most important things is to keep handy information on reporting any kind of fraud or suspicious transaction. At PayPal we offer both consumers as well as merchants protection.”
Listen to the full episode of The Breakfast Huddle here.