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.

Fintech represents “the last great mountain” for Booking BKNG, -0.33% to conquer as it aims to cut the “friction” out of booking overseas trips, said Daniel Marovitz, a senior vice president who will be leading the new group at the company, which houses brands like Booking.com, Kayak, and Priceline.

After initially operating in an “agency” model in which hotels would take the payments for rooms booked by customers, Booking has spent the past few years trying to get involved in the payment flow itself. Last year, 22% of bookings went through the company’s own payments platform, compared with less than 4% in 2017, and Marovitz expects continued growth going forward.

Chief Financial Officer David Goulden said at a March investor conference that Booking’s payments platform was “no longer a drag on profitability” and helped the company in its efforts to connect more elements of particular trip so that consumers could pay one provider for different parts of their travel.

Read the full article at marketwatch.com