Managing Payment collection delay and distributing to multiple suppliers

Question

Hey!
We are working on a travel startup that allow customers to buy bundle of hotels, flights, eSims etc' from different suppliers in one checkout.
After getting paid online, we need to pay our suppliers. The money takes a few days to transfer to our bank using services like Stripe.
This delay can lead to price changes by the time we pay the suppliers. 
How can we and others handle this payment problem?

Answer

Hi Peter,You don't have to wait until Stripe transfers funds to your account. Normally, you can reserve flights or rooms immediately in your supplier's system via API and pay for them later. This reservation fixes the price at the current level, which solves the problem you're talking about. For example, Amadeus GDS allows you to make a reservation in the airline's PSS and generate a PNR while delaying ticketing for several days. One scenario when this doesn't work is when you book LCCs (low-cost carriers) that don't have ticketing and immediately require a money transfer to make a reservation. You can set up instant money transfers to the carrier if they use Stripe. What kinds of suppliers do you have? Do you have an API connection with them? And why do they require you to transfer funds instantly to make a booking?

Answer

Hey Olexander,
Thanks for the quick response,
Currently, we're connected with Duffel as our supplier. They handle payments through an API connectio nand use a Top-Up (Balance) system with Stripe.
Our supplier currently is Duffel, we do have API connection with them, the way they handle the payment is using Top-Up to a balance inside their account using Stripe. This means when you book a flight or hotel through their API, the cost is deducted from your account balance. So, having enought funds in your balance is crucial before making an order.
They also offer "Duffel Payments", a service that lets you instantly top-up your balance. But, it reuired using Duffel as the Payment Service Provider via the "Duffel Component" on the client side. However, this isent the best fit for us, as we're looking for a more flexible PSP solution.
Given your explanation, I'm curious about their choice to use this method rather than offering delayed ticketing.
I'd appreciate your input on this. What do you think about switching providers, finding an instant payment PSP, or exploring loans as potential options?

Techtalks: Traveltech

Other topics:

Managing Payment collection delay and distributing to multiple suppliers