Sustaining Digital Travel: Business Continuity Management for Traveloka
Identifying Critical Business Functions
Chapter 12
Detailed Business Processes for High-Level Function
Payment Processing System

In today's fast-paced digital marketplace, seamless and secure payment processing is critical to delivering a positive customer experience.
For a leading online travel and lifestyle platform like Traveloka, the Payment Processing System is a backbone for its operations, ensuring customers can effortlessly complete transactions across various payment methods.
This document breaks down the high-level function of Traveloka's Payment Processing System into detailed business processes.
It outlines each step from payment initiation to settlement and exception handling, clearly showing how payments are securely managed, authorised, captured, and reconciled.
Understanding these processes is vital for identifying critical business functions, improving operational resilience, and ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations.
Detailed Business Processes: Payment Processing System
Payment Initialisation
- User selects payment option (credit/debit card, e-wallets, bank transfer, etc.).
- The system generates a transaction order ID.
- Display payment instructions (e.g., for bank transfer or e-wallet QR).
- Initiate session with external payment gateway (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, OVO, GoPay, etc.).
- Validate initial cart and pricing integrity before proceeding.
Authorisation
- Forward the transaction request to the payment gateway.
- Authenticate user (e.g., OTP via SMS, biometrics, 3D Secure).
- Fraud detection pre-checks (AI/ML analysis on user behaviour, device ID, location anomalies).
- Capture user authorisation (approve or decline payment).
Payment Capture
- Real-time notification from the payment gateway (payment successful, pending, or failed).
- Record transaction in Traveloka’s payment database.
- Issue a digital receipt/invoice to the customer.
- Update order status (confirmed, pending, cancelled).
- Trigger ticket/voucher issuance if payment is successful.
Settlement and Clearing
- Batch settlement process (aggregation of all payments by payment method and bank).
- Reconciliation of payments between Traveloka and third-party payment providers.
- Bank settlement and fund transfer to Traveloka accounts.
- Currency conversion and FX handling (for cross-border payments).
Refunds and Chargebacks Management
- The customer initiates a refund or cancellation request.
- Eligibility check (terms and conditions, booking type, refund policy).
- Refund authorisation and interaction with the payment gateway.
- Chargeback handling (respond to disputes, provide evidence to banks/card issuers).
- Track refund status and notify customers.
Payment Exception Handling
- Handle payment failures (timeout, declined card, insufficient balance, etc.).
- Automatic retry mechanisms for specific payment methods.
- Customer notification of issues and providing alternative payment options.
- Logging and analysis of payment errors and exceptions.
Security and Compliance
- PCI DSS compliance (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
- Data encryption and tokenisation of card details.
- Monitoring and reporting suspicious transactions (anti-fraud).
- Adherence to financial regulations (local laws, GDPR for personal data, etc.).
- Periodic audit and vulnerability assessments.
Reporting and Analytics
- Real-time payment dashboard for internal monitoring.
- Daily, weekly, and monthly transaction reports.
- Analytics on payment method performance, fraud rates, and customer preferences.
- Reporting to financial partners and internal finance teams.
Third-party Partner Management
- Onboarding of new payment providers (negotiations, integrations).
- Regular SLA monitoring (payment success rate, downtime, dispute resolution).
- Contract management and renewal.
Summary View
Business Process |
Key Activities |
Dependencies |
Payment Initialisation |
Order creation, payment option selection |
Booking system, cart system |
Payment Authorisation |
Gateway connection, fraud pre-checks |
Payment gateway, fraud detection |
Payment Capture |
Status updates, invoice issuance |
Transaction DB, ticketing system |
Settlement and Clearing |
Fund transfer, bank reconciliation |
Finance department, banks |
Refunds and Chargebacks |
Refund processing, dispute management |
Payment gateway, CRM |
Payment Exception Handling |
Error recovery, retries |
Notification system, customer support |
Security and Compliance |
PCI DSS, GDPR adherence |
Security team, legal team |
Reporting and Analytics |
Dashboard and reports |
Data warehouse, BI tools |
Third-party Partner Management |
Payment provider management |
Vendor management, tech integration |
Business Impact Analysis Table
Business Process |
MTD |
RTO |
RPO |
Impact if Disrupted |
Key Dependencies |
Payment Initialisation |
4 hours |
1 hour |
15 mins |
Customer unable to start transactions, significant revenue loss |
Booking system, Cart system, Payment gateway |
Payment Authorisation |
2 hours |
30 mins |
5 mins |
Transactions cannot be approved; high abandonment rate |
Payment gateway, Fraud detection engine |
Payment Capture |
2 hours |
30 mins |
5 mins |
Orders not confirmed; trust and revenue loss |
Transaction DB, Ticketing system |
Settlement and Clearing |
24 hours |
4 hours |
1 hour |
Financial discrepancies, delayed cash flow |
Finance system, Banks, Payment gateway |
Refunds and Chargebacks |
48 hours |
8 hours |
2 hours |
Customer dissatisfaction, potential legal issues |
CRM system, Payment gateway, Finance team |
Payment Exception Handling |
2 hours |
30 mins |
10 mins |
Increased failed payments, poor user experience |
Notification system, Customer support |
Security and Compliance |
72 hours |
8 hours |
6 hours |
Regulatory non-compliance, heavy penalties, reputational risk |
Security team, Legal, Compliance system |
Reporting and Analytics |
72 hours |
12 hours |
6 hours |
Poor financial visibility, delayed management reporting |
Data warehouse, BI tools |
Third-party Partner Management |
7 days |
24 hours |
12 hours |
Payment options unavailable, limited customer payment choices |
Vendor management, Tech integration |
Summing Up ...
Traveloka’s Payment Processing System is a complex and vital operation supporting the end-to-end customer transaction lifecycle.
It encompasses several critical business processes, including payment initialisation, authorisation, capture, settlement, exception handling, refunds, and compliance activities.
Each process involves coordination between internal systems, external payment gateways, financial institutions, and security frameworks to ensure reliability, security, and a seamless user experience.
By clearly defining these processes, organisations can better identify critical dependencies, potential failure points, and areas requiring robust continuity strategies.
As payment systems continue to evolve and expand, maintaining and continuously enhancing these processes remains crucial for sustaining customer trust, ensuring regulatory compliance, and supporting Traveloka’s growth in the digital economy.