Luxury online travel club adopts new payment processing services to strengthen position across the globe

Luxury online travel club adopts new payment processing services to strengthen position across the globe

Secret Escapes has this week announced an agreement that will see WorldPay handle the website’s payment transactions.

The independent online travel club, which runs exclusive flash sales of luxury handpicked holidays and hotels worldwide, has more than 2 million registered members and more than 1,000 hotels and suppliers since it first launched in February 2011. It recently announced it had secured £8 million of new funding to bolster the company’s position in the UK market and support international expansion plans in the US, Germany and the Nordic countries.

Secret Escapes was looking for a service that was simple to implement and had the ability to streamline customer transactions while providing the flexibility to expand as the company grows.

Expanding across payment borders

The agreement will see the payment processing, risk and alternative payments provider deliver its gateway and acquiring services, as well as alternative payment acceptance functionality, to Secret Escapes as the company aims to increase its international presence.

Alex Saint, Secret Escapes chief executive, commented: “WorldPay is committed to innovation in the travel industry and we believe this partnership will benefit our customers. It will also help us to grow our revenue streams in global markets as we look to expand internationally in 2013.”

Looking to the future, the new agreement will enable the company to accept a wide range of alternative payment types, aiding its expansion internationally using WorldPay’s extensive payment offering, connected to more than 50 local currency clearing systems.