Is Business Travel About to Stall?  After virtually disappearing in early 2020, business travelers are again booking trips to meetings, conferences, and events. Global business travel was a $1.4 trillion industry in 2019 – but conflicting factors have experts guessing at how long it will take for business travel to return to that level. Currently, the Global Business Travel Association...

BNPL Travel Booms  Travel paid for layaway-style is booming. Increasingly travel companies are offering flights, cruises and vacation packages that consumers can buy now and pay for over time. DCA Insight: Buy-now pay-later can be a great option for consumers with pent-up desire to travel now that pandemic restrictions are easing. Some deals offer zero percent financing to qualified buyers—others...

GasBuddy Acquired by PDI Travel and navigation app GasBuddy has been acquired by PDI, a provider of enterprise management software for convenience retailers and petroleum wholesalers. The acquisition of DCA member GasBuddy lets PCI extend capabilities in direct-to-consumer delivery of promotional offers, communication and loyalty programs. DCA Insight This is a strategic move for both parties. GasBuddy’s built an engaged...

CardLinx member Collinson launched a service at London’s Heathrow airport enabling passengers arriving from the US to get a free Covid-19 test. A negative result eliminates the government-imposed 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers arriving in the UK on select airlines from select US cities. CardLinx Insight: Collinson is built around delivering meaningful experiences for its clients’ customers—in this case for...

New Clean Way to Pay: Mobile Wallets Surge on Covid 19 Fears Requiring no physical contact with merchant point-of-sale terminals, mobile wallets are increasingly viewed as a safer way to pay by consumers around the world. Fears that payment cards, cash and coins may be tainted with the coronavirus, and that touching in-store terminals might make shoppers sick, the use...

According to recent news reports, US airlines are negotiating with major card-issuers to have the banks pre-buy miles. Most airlines have been hit hard by Covid-19, grounding as many as 70% of flights—and putting the industry in desperate need of cash. Card-issuers would buy airline loyalty points and link them to card spending as an incentive to drive card use....

Expect the Unexpected in Covid-19’s Wake In the uncertainty that surrounds the coronavirus, Silvio Tavares, CEO of industry trade association Cardlinx, shared perspectives with member executives around the world. Among topics discussed? Travel’s stalled, with hotel occupancy at just 15% and properties slated to close; credit card use is down, impacting the U.S. and other countries where consumer spending accounts...

We welcome Interac to The CardLinx Association. Interac is one of Canada’s leading payments brands and is chosen an average of 16 million times daily to pay and exchange money. Interac Corp. has a diverse group of shareholders that includes banks, credit unions, caisses populaires, payment processors and merchants. Interac provides Canadian cardholders with point-of-sale access at roughly 2 million...

2020’s Silver Bullet for Bank Digital Engagement: Card-Linked Offers How do the best companies in the world build digital trust and data confidence with consumers? They do it by adhering to these 7 straightforward data best practices. CardLinx, a multi-industry trade association, recently completed a 1.5 year study and task force to identify key factors driving digital trust and data...

We welcome YouWorld to The CardLinx Association. YouWorld is a tech-solution provider which drives foot traffic and sales to stores by enabling customers to purchase e-gift cards using their native mobile payment and currency. YouWorld’s technology allows easy implementation of Chinese mobile payments, requires no workflow changes for retailers, and ensures zero fraud. Its estimated reach is around 10 million...

TakeMe Pay combines the biggest payment services in the world into one app CardLinx member Japan Foodie (www.japanfoodie.jp) is well-known as a multi-payment service mainly for the restaurant industry in Japan. When tourists visit Japan whether they are from China or the US, they can use the Japan Foodie app on their smartphone to make a reservation, order off the menu...

Japan Foodie is a leading digital restaurant guide smartphone app with reservation and mobile payment functions for users. By linking credit cards to the app, consumers can pre-pay for a reservation or pay at the restaurant using a QR code within the app. Japan Foodie helps restaurants acquire new customers and increase repeat customer visits through GPS location-based and targeted...