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"Why are we paying three different companies to process one transaction?"
That's the question a hotel CFO asked me during a routine consultation last year. The property was juggling separate contracts for their gateway, acquiring, and currency conversion, burning through budgets and patience in equal measure. Sound familiar?
What drew me to the payments industry was the fact that it has become so integral to everyday life. Payments are essentially what make the world go round, in terms of how we conduct commerce both online and in-store.
The global hotel management software market, including payment systems, is expected to reach USD 4 billion in 2023, growing at a 7.6% annual rate. But here's the kicker: whilst the market explodes, most businesses are still treating payments like it's 2010—multiple providers, disconnected systems, and enough finger-pointing to stage a courtroom drama when something breaks.
The reality? 75% of consumers now expect seamless, omnichannel payment experiences. Miss that mark, and they'll join the 37% of customers who never return after a single bad checkout. In other words, your payment strategy isn't just about processing transactions—it's about survival.
The full-stack revolution and what full-stack really means
Let's decode the buzzword. What exactly are full-stack payments?
Full-stack payments occur when a single payment provider provides the full end-to-end services for a merchant, allowing them to benefit from a one-party relationship with a single point of contact for support.
Think of traditional payment setups like assembling furniture with parts from different shops—nothing quite fits, the instructions are in three languages, and you're left with mysterious extra pieces.
Full-stack flips the script: everything arrives in one box, designed to work together.
The business case is ironclad. Fragmented payment systems haemorrhage 3-5% of annual revenue through failed transactions. Manual reconciliation, that soul-crushing task your finance team dreads, takes 20% longer when systems don't communicate. And when disaster strikes?
You're looking at USD 14,056 per minute in losses for mid-market retailers, escalating to USD 23,750 per minute for larger operations.
What are full-stack Payments?
The hidden tax of fragmentation
Here's what fragmentation really costs—beyond the obvious headaches. We're living through a cybersecurity nightmare: 2,365 cyberattacks hit 343 million people in 2023, a 72% spike from 2021. The average breach now sets you back USD 4.88 million. With only 30% of businesses maintaining PCI compliance, every additional payment provider is another door left unlocked.
But the real killer? Opportunity cost. When you're negotiating separate contracts with different providers because you're only using one small piece of their overall offering, you're probably going to be charged a premium. Your team wastes countless hours playing detective across multiple portals. 69% of hospitality executives cite integration difficulties with legacy systems as their top challenge.
94% of enterprises have suffered an IT outage in the past three years, with retailers averaging 15 incidents. Each disconnected system is another domino in your house of cards.
Success stories that prove the point
Want proof that integration works? Blue Lagoon Iceland's story is pure gold. After implementing Planet's full-stack solution, their Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) (also known as pay in your own currency PYC) revenue jumped 50%.
Their CIO, Sigurður Long, paints the picture: "With Planet, a guest can walk around the lagoon, and go to the restaurant, spa, cafe and purchase skincare and never have to (physically) check out, as we charge the card with everything they purchase, using the secure token."
That's not magic—it's integration done right. Companies making the switch report up to 50% productivity improvements within 12 months. One bank slashed reconciliation time by 85%. Hotels using self-service technology can operate with 45% fewer staff during shortages.
The revenue side? Even better. Merchants offering DCC see a significant rise in additional revenue from international transactions. When 90% of international shoppers prefer paying in their home currency, that's pure profit sitting on the table.
The tech trinity: Automation, Tokenisation, and AI
Remember when cash machines were cutting-edge? Today's payment tech makes those look like stone tablets. Companies using payment automation slash expenses by up to 80% and 73% report healthier cash flow after implementation.
Tokenisation is the unsung hero of payment security. Retailers see a 26% decrease in fraud rates after implementation. Visa's data shows tokenised transactions can cut fraud by up to 60%. The Tokenisation market itself is exploding—from USD 3.95 billion to USD 7.5 billion by 2028.
But AI? That's where things get interesting: Tracking that customer end-to-end across the merchant's entire estate (by tracking the token), you can see, they've just bought a burger at Burger King, and then they've gone to duty-free and bought a bottle of whisky, and then they've flown to Luxembourg.
This isn't Big Brother, it's big business intelligence.
The global-local balancing act
Planet processes over €billions annually across 120+ markets, but global reach means nothing without local expertise. It's crucial to have an established infrastructure within the market for many years.
The Brexit reality check made this crystal clear. Without proper local acquiring licences, you're dead in the water. And with cross-border e-commerce hitting USD 1.8 trillion in 2025, serving international customers isn't optional—it's survival.
Cloud nine: The migration everyone's making
The hospitality cloud migration isn't coming, it's here. 67% of travel and hospitality companies report advanced cloud adoption. 62% of hoteliers say cloud PMS is their next major move.
Watch the giants: Hyatt's moving 1,000+ hotels to Oracle's Opera Cloud. Wyndham's transitioning 3,000 properties.
When Hyatt made the switch, they unlocked something powerful—guest preferences were visible across every property. That's not just convenience; it's a competitive advantage.
The future is already knocking
What’s next? Retina scans or other forms of biometric ID are the future. It’s a secure, hands-free option, especially in cities where phone theft is becoming more common.
62% of travellers want biometric technology. 41% would visit more often if it were available. The money follows: 85% of hotel leaders know guest data personalisation delivers 5%+ incremental revenue. Deloitte found that full personalisation can boost revenue by 15%.
The bottom line: Choose your future
Planet's Modernisation Platform Programme—their biggest investment ever—sends a clear message. We're not here for the quick wins. We're here for the long-term growth and supporting these customers, not just today, tomorrow, but in the future as well.
The market has spoken: 81% of small businesses want integrated payments. 80% of hotel operators say better integration unlocks better data use.
Are you still still on the fence? What's stopping you from getting a free quotation and a pricing analysis done by Planet just to see how much you could save?
Here's the truth: every day you spend managing multiple providers, fighting fires, and bleeding money through the cracks is a day, your competitors pull ahead.
Payments make the world go round. The question isn't whether to embrace full-stack payments, it's whether you'll lead the charge or get left counting coins whilst others count profits.
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