“Add Booking Holdings Inc. to the list of e-commerce companies betting that a tighter control over the payments process will create a better experience for consumers—and a new revenue stream. The online-travel company announced earlier this month that it was launching a financial technology unit that would aim to simplify some of the monetary hurdles of international travel, from booking a room at a hotel where there’s a different local currency to making a purchase commitment for a trip that won’t take place for a few months.”

“Booking.com has created a fintech business to improve access to its travel marketplace for customers and partners.   The company says its aim is to “further remove financial friction from the travel process.”   The fintech unit is being headed up by senior vice president Daniel Marovitz who has led Bookings’ payments products for the past four years.”

“The surprisingly positive results reflect a big upswing from a year ago, when Airbnb’s bookings plunged 80% after the coronavirus shut down most of the world. Travel was one of the hardest hit sectors of the economy in the pandemic, but Airbnb saw a swifter recovery than its peers when urbanites started abandoning their city apartments in favor of longer stays in rural rentals. Domestic leisure travel has continued to increase this year as vaccination rates have climbed in the U.S., with some analysts expecting Airbnb to see bookings return to pre-pandemic levels by summer.”