International Payment Gateway
“When an International customer books a holiday in India, intent is built over weeks and months but lost in seconds if the final step introduces doubt.”
- Lijo Isac, Chief Business
Officer, Iris Holidays
About Iris Holidays
Founded in 2009, Iris Holidays is a boutique tour operator with 17+ years of expertise and is among India’s few tour operators with a rare 12-year streak of TripAdvisor awards (2014–2025). Iris Holidays focuses on international and domestic travellers, from honeymooners to families, seeking curated, high-touch journeys across Kerala, “God’s Own Country,” and South India.
As Iris Holidays attracted travellers from across the globe, growth increasingly depended on how reliably international travellers completed high-value bookings, not on generating demand alone.
The High-Value Travel Conversion Challenge
High-value international travel bookings are typically planned 8 to 12 months in advance, shaped by extensive research, expert inputs, and multiple itinerary revisions.
This makes the moment of the final payment uniquely sensitive, where intent is strong, but tolerance for uncertainty is low. Any friction here can undo months of consideration and efforts in seconds.
As global volumes scaled, Iris Holidays consistently observed friction at the final step:
High emotional and financial commitment: Premium travel bookings entail a significant financial outlay and high emotional expectations. Any delay or friction at the payment stage risked triggering last-minute hesitation and questions about the trust quotient.
Trust gap for first-time international travellers: Most of the foreign travelers were booking with an India-based travel operator for the first time. Entering card details into an unfamiliar payment flow introduced security anxiety at the moment of commitment.
Friction-heavy cross-border payment flows: Traditional international card payments often involved redirects, 3D Secure authentication, and manual data entry—steps that frequently lost momentum, particularly on mobile devices and Indian payment gateways were not familiar to most foreign travellers from countries like the UK, USA, France, Germany, Denmark, etc.
As a result, cart abandonment for international bookings sat in the mid-50% range, even when traveller intent was strong.
Why Cart Abandonment Became a Strategic Metric
For Iris Holidays, cart abandonment was not a UX inconvenience; it was a direct growth constraint that was impacting overall guest experience and revenue.
In high-value travel:
Each abandoned booking represents lost high-intent seven-digit revenue
Acquisition spend, effort and time are wasted if bookings fail at the final step
Manual follow-ups for payments increase operational overhead
With demand already validated, Iris Holidays recognised that reducing abandonment at payment would unlock disproportionate revenue impact.
The objective was clear: remove friction at the moment of commitment and use a familiar payment method, so global intent reliably converted into confirmed bookings.
The Solution: Apple Pay on Cashfree IPG
Iris Holidays enabled Apple Pay on Cashfree’s International Payment Gateway, simplifying the final booking step for its global, mobile-first audience.
The solution addressed abandonment across four critical dimensions:
Compressing the commitment window for high-value bookings: Travel bookings involve emotional and financial weight. Apple Pay reduced the number of actions required to complete payment, ensuring that once a traveller decided to book, the process concluded with a reliable experience before doubt or hesitation could set in.
Replacing security anxiety with a familiar trust signal: For first-time international travellers booking with an India-based operator, Apple Pay acted as a familiar anchor. Instead of evaluating a new payment portal, travellers relied on a method and a brand that they already trusted for high-value transactions.
Eliminating friction in time-sensitive decisions: Travel intent is often moment-driven. Apple Pay allowed guests to complete bookings without re-entering payment details, preserving momentum at the point of decision.
Ensuring reliability for high-value, cross-border travel payments: Cashfree International Payment Gateway provided the backend stability required for large-ticket international transactions, ensuring that payments were processed consistently across geographies without retries or failures.
The Outcome: From Mid-50% Abandonment to Predictable Revenue Conversion
After introducing Apple Pay on Cashfree IPG, Iris Holidays saw a clear and structural shift in booking outcomes:
Cart abandonment reduced from the mid-50% range to near-zero for Apple Pay users: Once travellers selected Apple Pay, bookings were completed reliably, with negligible drop-offs.
Payment success rates consistently exceeded 95%: Apple Pay transactions demonstrated high reliability for international, high-value bookings, reducing failures, retries, and manual intervention.
Zero chargebacks recorded on Apple Pay transactions: Biometric authentication and tokenised payments significantly lowered dispute risk—critical for a business handling high-value, cross-border travel bookings.
Direct improvement in realised revenue: By converting high-intent international demand that previously dropped off at payment, Iris Holidays unlocked incremental revenue without increasing acquisition spend or operational complexity.
The improved payment experience didn’t go unnoticed - customers increasingly referenced the ease and security of payments in their online reviews.
“Earlier, a meaningful share of high-intent bookings dropped off at checkout. With Apple Pay, that leakage has largely vanished, and the revenue lift is clearly tangible”
-Lijo Isac, Chief Business Officer -Leadership Team, Iris Holidays
Why These Metrics Matter Together
Each metric reflects a different layer of the same outcome:
Lower abandonment ensured intent didn’t leak
95%+ success rates made revenue predictable
Zero chargebacks reduced operational and risk exposure
Revenue uplift validated business impact
Together, they show that Apple Pay on Cashfree IPG didn’t just optimise payments, it stabilised and scaled the revenue engine for high-value international travel.
Strategic Impact for Iris Holidays
With payment friction removed:
Global acquisition spend became more efficient
High-value bookings converted with greater certainty
International expansion could scale without increasing risk
“Apple Pay on Cashfree IPG has transformed the most fragile point in our funnel into the most dependable one, adding a clear layer of trust and reliability.”
