Indian Travel Firms Look to Fix Payment Friction to Win Global Customers

Indian carrier Akasa Air last week added Apple Pay as a payment option on its website and mobile app, becoming the first Indian airline to enable Apple Pay for cross-border transactions. Apple Pay is not available in India, and this option has been made available through a partnership with Indian payment gateway Razorpay. 

Travel players are now investing in frictionless payments as they scale international operations. According to data shared by Apple this month, Apple Pay generated more than $100 billion in incremental merchant sales globally last year, demonstrating its conversion impact.

The integration allows international travelers to book Akasa Air flights using Apple Pay with one-tap authentication via Face ID or Touch ID. For Akasa Air, which has been steadily expanding its international footprint, payments are emerging as a critical conversion lever rather than a backend utility. 

“Recognizing payments as a vital element of the custom