The travel industry has always been highly sensitive to trust. Customers are committing significant amounts of money to flights, accommodation, package holidays and experiences, often months before they receive the service. Today, that trust is being tested by a more sophisticated fraud environment.
For travel merchants, the challenge is to protect the entire customer journey, from the moment a traveller discovers an offer online to the point at which they make a payment and beyond.
This is becoming particularly important in the UK, one of Europe's key outbound travel markets. Strong demand for international travel is creating opportunities for travel businesses, but high value bookings, seasonal peaks and increasingly digital customer journeys are also creating attractive opportunities for fraudsters.
According to MoneySavingExpert, just over £11 million was lost to holiday booking scams in the UK in 2024.
At the same time, research included in emerchantpay's Global Payments Outlook 2026 found that 34% of UK holidaymakers have noticed an increase in potentially fraudulent travel content on social media over the past year.
Travel fraud is evolving with the customer journey
Travellers increasingly discover destinations, accommodation and experiences through social media, search engines, influencers and digital advertising. This creates more opportunities for criminals to insert themselves into the journey before a customer even reaches a legitimate travel merchant.
Fraudsters can use fake booking websites, cloned brands, fraudulent social media accounts and misleading offers to exploit consumer trust. MoneySavingExpert has highlighted fake accommodation deals, discounted flight offers, cloned websites and bogus booking communications among the scams targeting holidaymakers.
The growing role of social media adds another layer of complexity. Research by emerchantpay found that 34% of Brits had noticed an increase in potentially fraudulent travel content on social platforms. Among Gen Z consumers aged 18 to 29, the figure rises to 43%.
These figures show that younger travellers are particularly accustomed to discovering products and experiences through social channels. Travel inspiration and travel transactions are increasingly connected, meaning the boundary between marketing, discovery and purchasing is becoming less distinct.
Therefore, for merchants, this means that trust needs to be built consistently across the customer journey.
High value bookings make travel a particularly attractive target
Bookings can be high value, particularly for international flights, luxury accommodation, package holidays and family travel. They can also involve customers purchasing services well in advance, creating a long period during which fraudsters can attempt to exploit booking or payment information.
Moreover, seasonality adds another dimension. During peak travel periods, merchants can experience significant increases in transaction volumes. Customers may also feel greater urgency because prices can rise, availability can decrease and popular destinations can sell out. This combination of high transaction values, seasonal peaks and urgency can create a challenging environment for fraud teams.
In addition to seasonality, major cultural and sporting events can intensify the problem further. The UK's experience with ticket fraud demonstrates how emotionally driven, high demand purchases can create opportunities for criminals. The same dynamics can apply to travel surrounding major events, where consumers may urgently search for flights, accommodation and tickets.
Consumers are looking for security, not just convenience
Travellers want payment experiences that are quick and convenient, but convenience does not mean that security has become less important.
The Global Payments Outlook 2026 found that 40% of UK consumers are concerned about using debit cards abroad because of potential loss or theft, while 68% view credit cards as the most secure option for booking and international spending.
A customer making a £50 purchase may be willing to accept a certain level of uncertainty. A customer spending £2,000 or £5,000 on an international holiday is likely to think differently about where their money and personal information are going.
The payment page, therefore, becomes a moment where the customer assesses whether the business deserves their trust. So the objective should be to introduce the right level of security at the right point in the journey, while minimising unnecessary friction for legitimate customers.
Why fraud prevention needs to become more intelligent
Fraudsters continuously adapt their behaviour, making it increasingly important for merchants to assess transactions in context. Firstly, useful statistics can include factors such as transaction value, customer behaviour, device information, location, payment details and historical activity. For example, a £4,000 holiday booking made from a new device and an IP address in a different country from the card's issuing country could warrant closer examination. While neither signal alone indicates fraud, several unusual factors combined may suggest suspicious activity and the need for additional verification.
Secondly, real time monitoring can help identify unusual behaviour as it happens, while layered fraud prevention can allow merchants to apply additional checks where the level of risk warrants them.
Finally, strong customer authentication also has an important role to play in adding another layer of protection.
What is 3DS2 and why does it matter for travel payments?
3DS2, or 3D Secure 2, is an authentication protocol designed to help verify that the person making an online card transaction is the legitimate cardholder.
3DS2 helps merchants meet Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements under PSD2, while providing an additional layer of protection for online card payments. Authenticated transactions can also shift fraud-related chargeback liability from the merchant to the card issuer, subject to scheme rules and applicable exemptions.
This can help merchants protect genuine customers while keeping checkout straightforward. This is particularly important in travel, where unnecessary declines or friction can have a significant commercial impact on high value bookings.
Trust can become a competitive advantage
Consumers need confidence that the business they are booking with is legitimate, that their payment information is protected and that they can complete their purchase safely.
This is particularly important as consumers encounter more fraudulent travel content online. Research from the Global Payments Outlook 2026 found that 70% of UK consumers are wary of promotional emails related to holidays because of concerns about scams, while half prefer to book with online or high street travel businesses that clearly explain how they protect consumers from fraud.
For travel merchants, communicating security measures clearly can therefore support trust before and during checkout. The opportunity is to provide reassurance at the moments where it matters.
It's important to note that clear payment security messaging, recognisable payment methods, trusted authentication and a consistent brand experience can all contribute to that reassurance.
What can travel merchants do to reduce payment fraud?
There is no single tool that can eliminate travel payment fraud. A stronger approach combines technology, processes and customer communication.
- Monitor transactions in real time
Real time monitoring can help merchants identify unusual transaction patterns and respond quickly to emerging threats. This is particularly valuable during seasonal peaks, when transaction volumes change rapidly and fraudsters may attempt to exploit increased activity.
- Use layered fraud prevention
Combining transaction monitoring, risk assessment, authentication and other fraud prevention measures can give merchants a more complete view of potential risk.
- Apply 3DS2 strategically
Authentication can provide an additional layer of protection for online card transactions. The key is to use it intelligently rather than treating every transaction in exactly the same way. A risk based approach can help protect higher risk payments while reducing unnecessary friction for legitimate customers.
- Protect the wider customer journey
Travel businesses should consider how customers are interacting with their brand across websites, email, social media and customer service channels. Fraudsters increasingly use impersonation and fake communications to exploit trusted brands.
- Make security visible
Communicating clearly about payment security can help reassure customers, particularly when they are making high value purchases. This does not mean adding unnecessary complexity to the checkout. It means giving customers confidence that security has been considered as part of the experience.
- Apply additional controls to phone bookings
3DS2 does not apply to mail order and telephone order (MOTO) transactions. Travel agents accepting bookings over the phone should therefore use alternative fraud prevention measures, such as Address Verification Service (AVS), CVV checks and transaction velocity limits, to help identify suspicious activity and reduce fraud risk.
Security needs to support the customer experience
The strongest payment strategies aim to introduce security measures in a way that reflects the level of risk associated with a transaction. This is particularly important because customers may already be navigating a complex purchase. They may be comparing flights, accommodation, transfers and insurance while also managing currency differences and travel dates.
An unnecessarily complicated payment experience can create another barrier at precisely the point where the customer is ready to convert. At the same time, removing security measures simply to make checkout faster can expose both the merchant and customer to greater risk. The answer lies in creating a payment experience for travellers that is secure by design and proportionate to risk.
A partnership approach to travel payment security
The changing fraud environment means travel businesses increasingly need more than a payment processor that simply authorises transactions. They need a payments partner that understands the characteristics of their industry and can help them manage risk as transaction volumes, customer behaviour and fraud techniques evolve.
That can include capabilities such as real time risk monitoring, advanced fraud prevention, 3DS2 and authentication, alongside the payment infrastructure required to support customers across markets.
As Wendy Corkin, Company Accountant at Oasis Travel, explains:
The summer travel season consistently brings a significant increase in bookings and high value transactions, which also means heightened exposure to fraud attempts targeting both our business and our customers. As a premium travel brand, maintaining trust and delivering a secure customer experience is absolutely critical.
She adds:
Through our partnership with emerchantpay, we are able to offer secure payment experiences backed by advanced anti-fraud tools and authentication measures that help protect our customers at every stage of the booking journey.
The experience of travel businesses such as Oasis Travel demonstrates why payment security needs to be considered alongside the wider customer experience.
FAQs
Explore the Global Payments Outlook 2026
Our Global Payments Outlook 2026 examines how consumer behaviour, payment preferences, regional market dynamics and emerging risks are shaping the future of payments across Europe, APAC, MENA, North America and LATAM. The report also includes a dedicated chapter on the travel industry.
Explore the Global Payments Outlook 2026 to discover the payment trends shaping travel and global commerce in 2026.