SA travel fintech raises $300k from Silicon Valley, New York investors
TLDR
- South African fintech TurnStay secures $300,000 funding from Silicon Valley and New York investors DFS Lab and DCG for African expansion.
- Co-founded by Alon Stern (Slide Financial) and James Hedley (Quicket), TurnStay aims to lower payment processing costs for African travel and tourism businesses.
- TurnStay leverages strategies from major booking companies to enhance payment efficiency for merchants and platforms in Africa.
South African travel-focused fintech, TurnStay, has raised $300,000 in funding from Silicon Valley and New York-based investors DFS Lab and DCG.
The company said that it plans to use the funding to expand the business into Africa and build on the significant traction already achieved.
Founded by entrepreneurs Alon Stern, co-founder of Slide Financial, and James Hedley, co-founder of Quicket, TurnStay reduces the cost of getting paid for African merchants and platforms in travel and tourism by using strategies used by the world’s biggest booking companies.
Key Takeaways
Getting paid in the travel sector can be costly due to high payment costs and fees imposed by online travel agents. On average, merchants spend 12% of their revenue on payment processing, which can be the difference between profit and loss, significantly affecting the viability of many businesses in a sector that employs over six million people in Africa. TurnStay claims it uses a global network of compliant companies to significantly reduce the cost of international payments for hotels without compromising safety or efficiency. This addresses the issue that African hotels often pay fees up to 20x higher than those paid by online travel agencies like Booking.com. Merchants benefit from lower card fees, an improved checkout experience, and increased direct bookings, enabling properties to better compete with online travel agencies and improve their conversion rates.
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