Challenge

EaseMyTrip was founded in 2008 in New Delhi. After 15 years as one of the leading online travel portals in India, the company ran into a roadblock when it wanted to expand into the UK. The payments infrastructure it used for its Indian business couldn’t provide the local payment experience that UK travelers expected.

The company's existing payment processor didn't support UK payment methods such as credit cards, or multicurrency transactions with local settlement of funds. This created immediate friction for British customers, who expected familiar payment options but instead encountered a system built for Indian preferences. The payment partner also couldn't meet UK fraud prevention standards, such as 3DS payment authentication, putting EaseMyTrip at regulatory risk.

EaseMyTrip did not want to develop engineering-intensive workarounds that could delay expansion or cause outright payment failure. Travel purchases are time-sensitive; people tend to comparison shop and abandon transactions at the first sign of friction. For EaseMyTrip, payment hiccups would directly impact its revenue. Instead, the company wanted a truly global payment solution to accelerate entry into the UK, and support additional expansion in the future.

"Payments are a core pillar of our business model as an online travel agency," said Karan Handa, general manager of marketing. "We need a seamless, secure, and reliable payment experience to support customer trust, conversion rates, and overall satisfaction."

Solution

To break through international barriers, EaseMyTrip turned to Stripe Payments as the backbone of its expansion.

With Payments, EaseMyTrip could process UK credit and debit card transactions, which are the most commonly used payment methods for its customers. Stripe's built-in support for 3D Secure authentication proved particularly valuable for navigating local security regulations. Instead of bogging every transaction down with extra steps, Stripe’s system only prompts customers when local regulations demand it. This keeps booking experiences fast and frustration-free, while meeting local compliance rules and offering protection from fraud.

Stripe's developer-friendly APIs and comprehensive documentation made the integration process smoother and speedier than what EaseMyTrip had experienced with other payment providers, enabling a faster path to market.

Stripe’s 99.999% uptime gave the company confidence that it had a stable infrastructure that would support rising payment volume as its UK customer base grew. Stripe also offered another critical advantage: simplicity. With a single integration, EaseMyTrip could instantly support expansion into other new markets without the headache of juggling payment providers or untangling complex technical integrations.

Results

Moving to Stripe Payments accelerates UK market entry

Stripe enabled EaseMyTrip to launch in the UK significantly faster than would have been possible with its legacy payments infrastructure. Rather than spending months integrating with local payment providers, EaseMyTrip launched in about four weeks through Stripe's unified global platform. This freed up valuable engineering resources to focus on core product development and optimizing the customer booking experience, rather than managing disparate payment systems.

“Stripe’s integration process was significantly smoother and more developer-friendly than many other payment providers we’ve worked with.,” Handa said. “The comprehensive documentation, clear APIs, and robust sandbox environment made it easy for our tech team to implement and test without unnecessary delays.”

3x payment volume growth drives UK market success

EaseMyTrip saw its payment volume triple in the 12 months since adding Stripe for its UK operations, reflecting the importance of offering a localized payment experience.

Stripe’s robust uptime has supported that growing volume even during peak traffic periods like holiday sales and flash promotions. “Our experience with Stripe’s uptime and reliability has been excellent.,” Handa said. “In the travel industry, where booking volumes can spike unpredictably and customers expect real-time confirmations, having a dependable payment partner is non-negotiable.”

Single integration unlocks access to further geographic expansion

With Stripe handling payment complexity, EaseMyTrip can more easily set its sights on continued global expansion with the confidence that its payment operations will scale efficiently across new regions.

That single Stripe integration gives EaseMyTrip access to a wide range of payment methods beyond traditional credit and debit cards—including buy now, pay later services—that the company can add without complex technical integrations for each method. EaseMyTrip can now respond quickly to changing consumer demands and remain competitive in the travel industry.