Trip.com Teams Up with Checkout.com for Smoother Payments

First rollout in UK, Japan, Saudi Arabia

China-based Trip.com has struck a deal with Checkout.com, a global digital payments platform, to simplify and secure transactions at the point of booking. The aim is to lift acceptance rates and strip out payment friction, a decisive factor for conversion in travel. Trip.com, which operates in 24 languages across 39 countries and regions as part of Trip.com Group, says the partnership will help deliver a smoother booking experience by leaning on high-performance, locally attuned payment infrastructure.

Wang Zhe, vice president of Trip.com Group, said: "As a global travel platform, providing a fast and reliable payment experience is essential to meeting the expectations of our users and supporting our international growth. Checkout.com's global acquiring capabilities and modular technology give us the flexibility to tailor our payment strategy by market – improving success rates, reducing costs, and ultimately delivering a better experience for our customers. This partnership strengthens our ability to innovate at speed and scale as we connect travelers with the world around them."

Acquiring and issuing in focus

The partnership strengthens payment acceptance via locally connected acquiring entities to optimise performance across markets. Trip.com has adopted Standalone 3DS to bolster authentication and security, and is exploring Vault for secure card storage, Identity Verification (IDV) and issuing solutions for both physical and virtual cards. The pair also plan to add local payment methods, e-wallets and bank transfers to broaden consumer choice.

According to Trip.com, payments are a critical conversion lever. By combining localised acquiring with a modular tech stack, the company aims to lift acceptance rates, reduce operational costs and cut basket abandonment linked to declines or sluggish processing. Standardising tools such as 3DS also meets security expectations while supporting scalability. For Checkout.com, the focus is on co-creating a performance-led payments strategy that tracks the travel sector’s growth in an increasingly digital economy.

Brian Sze, president of Checkout.com Asia Pacific, said: "As one of the fastest-growing travel platforms globally, Trip.com is at the forefront of digital travel, and we're proud to support its global expansion with the payment infrastructure needed to thrive in today's digital economy. Our collaboration goes beyond processing transactions – it's about co-creating a payment strategy that drives performance, reduces friction, and supports the growth of the tourism industry through digital innovation."

The partnership begins in key markets and will extend shortly to other priority regions. The company is first rolling out digital card payments in the UK, Japan and Saudi Arabia, before expanding to North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.