Centara to Adopt Global Payments System Supporting 153 Currencies

Centara Hotels & Resorts has announced a significant business partnership with Global Payments Inc., a global payment technology provider, to develop a cross-border payment system for its hotels and resorts across Thailand. This project is officially scheduled to launch the new system within the fourth quarter of 2026. The primary goal is to facilitate travellers from around the world to book accommodation packages directly through the hotel website, while significantly reducing the complexity of international financial transaction processes.

Enhancing Direct Bookings and Solving Exchange Rate Issues

Data from studies in the tourism industry indicates that currently, nearly 35 percent of hotel bookings in Southeast Asia are direct bookings through the hotels' own websites. Such statistics clearly point out that modern travellers demand flexibility in managing their travel and often look for more worthwhile benefits from brand loyalty programmes. However, the complication of currency conversion and the volatility of exchange rates remain significant obstacles. These problems often cause tourists to hesitate and decide to cancel their transactions in the final stage of booking, resulting in tourism operators losing massive amounts of revenue opportunities.

Applying the modern payment infrastructure of Global Payments will help Centara to better manage the customer payment experience on its own website. This system is designed to accommodate the diverse needs of foreign tourists, of whom tens of millions travel to Thailand each year. Such technology will help erase the traditional limitations of cross-border payments and help build customer confidence throughout the accommodation booking journey.

New System Supports Diverse Transaction Options

This technological collaboration allows Centara to display room rates in up to 153 different currencies on the booking system. In addition, it is ready to support over 200 types of electronic transaction formats to meet the needs of users in each region. The new payment system also comes with the ability to connect to reliable exchange rate data sources and features an exchange rate lock function, which helps travellers know the exact payment amount before making a decision. All these factors will help create a smooth and seamless booking experience for all customers.

Global Payments has extensive experience in providing payment systems to large businesses, including leading global airlines, and recently expanded its services into the Thai market approximately 12 months ago. Joining hands with a nationally renowned hotel group like Centara this time is considered an extension of the payment ecosystem to cover the tourism industry more comprehensively. Senior executives from both organisations are confident that this new technology will strengthen the relationship between the brand and its customers, and contribute to stimulating the growth of the Thai tourism industry in the digital age sustainably.

This press release is of interest to executives and personnel in the hotel industry who wish to study approaches to adopting financial technology to improve direct room booking systems, as well as groups of foreign travellers who will receive greater convenience and transparency in international transactions.