Kovena

What Kovena does

Kovena Pty Ltd is a privately held travel-payments company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Hampton (Melbourne), Australia, with legal entities across the United States (Atlanta), United Kingdom (London), Netherlands (Rotterdam), New Zealand (Twizel), and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City). The company operates an embedded payments platform purpose-built for the hospitality and travel industry, processing transactions across more than 50 countries in 145+ currencies under PCI DSS Level 1 certification. Its primary products are Embedded Payments (API-integrated processing for PMS, Channel Managers, and Booking Engines), PCI Travel Vault (tokenisation that allows hotels to rely on Kovena's Level 1 certification rather than obtaining their own), and Virtual Terminal (web-based manual payment entry and payment links).

Kovena serves four interlocking customer segments: hotels and resorts (the primary end-customer), PMS/Channel Manager/Booking Engine platforms (which white-label or embed Kovena to monetise payments), travel agencies (multi-supplier split payments and fraud reduction), and acquirers/PSPs (sourcing vetted travel merchants). Distribution is exclusively channel-driven — Kovena does not acquire hotel merchants directly but rather integrates into their existing software stack via a single API, with partners earning approximately 0.5% of processed transaction volume as revenue share. Onboarding for new properties can take as little as one day; full partner integrations typically run one to three months.

The revenue model is transaction-based with multiple streams: per-transaction fees from travel service providers (set regionally in partnership with each TMS), partner revenue share at approximately 0.5% of volume, FX margin of approximately 0.5% on cross-border disbursements (processed via TransferMate, Novatti, and NIUM), and chargeback fees of $25 AUD on lost disputes. There are no setup, subscription, or refund fees for merchants. The company reports materially better unit economics than industry averages — a 0.1% chargeback rate versus a ~1% benchmark and up to 70% chargeback reduction through tokenisation, PSD2 compliance, and 3-D Secure — though these figures are company-reported and lack independent verification.

Name

Kovena

Legal name

Kovena Pty Ltd

Website

https://kovena.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kovena is a travel-focused embedded payments platform serving hotels, travel agencies, and travel software providers (PMS, channel managers, booking engines) across 50+ countries. It processes payments in 145+ currencies under PCI DSS Level 1, delivering travel-specific fraud controls and chargeback management through channel partner integrations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Payments Platform

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Payment-Integrated Booking & Checkout Modules (THALADAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payment Gateways & Orchestration (BPAMAFAA), Payment Orchestration Platforms (FSAGABAA)

Keywords

• Embedded payments platform
• Hospitality payment processing
• Travel payments technology
• PMS integration payments
• Multi-currency payment processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Hampton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees (Travel Service Providers): Kovena charges travel service providers (accommodations, hotels) a retail fee per transaction processed. The fee structure is determined in partnership with each TMS/Channel Manager/Booking Engine based on regional pricing. No setup fees, subscription fees, or refund fees are charged to merchants.
2. Partner Revenue Share: PMS and Booking Engine partners earn approximately 0.5% of all transaction volume that flows through the Kovena payment system. Example: 1,000 properties each turning over $1M in card volume annually generates $5M in additional partner revenue.
3. Chargeback Fees: When a chargeback is ruled in the cardholder's favour, the hotel is charged the disputed transaction amount plus $25.00 AUD. This represents a fee income stream from merchants who incur disputed transactions.
4. FX Margin on Disbursements: During the disbursement process, Kovena uses foreign exchange partners who convert funds into the merchant's local currency and charge approximately 0.5% of the total volume for this service. The mid-market rate is used at the point of transaction charging in AUD.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kovena provides an embedded payment platform purpose-built for the travel and hospitality industry. The platform integrates directly with Property Management Systems (PMS), Channel Managers, and Booking Engines via a single API, delivering global multi-currency processing across 145+ currencies, PCI DSS Level 1 tokenisation, automated reconciliation, 3D Secure authentication, travel-specific fraud detection, and split payments to multiple suppliers. Hotels, resorts, travel agencies, and PMS/Booking Engine partners access the platform either directly or through white-label integrations.

Product overview

Kovena is a travel-first embedded payments platform built specifically for the hospitality and travel industry. The core offering is the Embedded Payments system, which integrates directly into PMS, booking engines, and channel managers. Supporting this are the PCI Travel Vault (compliance module) and Virtual Terminal (manual payment processing). Hotel Link Pay represents a white-label variant. The platform delivers multi-currency processing across 145+ currencies, automated reconciliation, and travel-specific fraud detection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Embedded Payments Kovena's core payment-forward system that integrates payment processing directly into travel management software (PMS, booking engines, channel managers), enabling automated pre-arrival deposits, multi-currency processing across 145+ currencies, fraud protection with 3DS, embedded booking-plus-payment reporting, and seamless checkout experiences for hotels, travel agencies and software partners.
• PCI Travel Vault A PCI DSS Level 1 compliant tokenisation solution that encrypts and stores guest credit card details securely, reducing PCI compliance burden on hotels and enabling safe payment processing across the travel ecosystem. Hotels using the Kovena PCI Travel Vault can leverage Kovena's own PCI DSS Level 1 certification rather than obtaining their own.
• Virtual Terminal A secure, web-based payment processing tool that allows merchants to manually enter and process credit or debit card payments or send secure payment links to guests for remote collection without requiring a physical card reader.
• Hotel Link Pay (HLP) A payment solution powered by Kovena and embedded within the Hotel Link Solutions platform, providing transaction and disbursement reporting and streamlining check-in and check-out payments for accommodations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Chargeback rate of 0.1%, which is 10x lower than the industry average of ~1% (some sources cite 2%)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature8 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TransferMatecoreTechnology or IntegrationTransferMate is a foreign exchange (FX) partner used by Kovena to convert and disburse funds to merchants in their local currencies. When TransferMate processes a disbursement, merchants receive an email from [email protected] with the Amount, Payment Reference, and Value Date.
• NovatticoreTechnology or IntegrationNovatti is a foreign exchange partner used by Kovena for FX conversion and disbursement processing. When Novatti processes a disbursement, merchants receive an email from [email protected] with the Amount, Payment Reference, and Date.
• NIUMcoreTechnology or IntegrationNIUM is a foreign exchange partner used by Kovena for FX conversion and disbursement processing. MT103 SWIFT payment messages are available once payments are dispatched.
• PCI Proxy (pci-proxy.com)coreTechnology or IntegrationPCI Proxy is Kovena's PCI compliance partner responsible for conducting scheduled maintenance on the production environment. They facilitate PCI DSS Level 1 compliant payment processing infrastructure.
• MVSIcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMVSI is Kovena's KYC (Know Your Customer) verification partner, handling the Customer Due Diligence (CDD) process for merchant onboarding in compliance with Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Act. MVSI collects business documentation and identity verification from beneficial owners.
• StaahcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerStaah is a Channel Manager that embeds Kovena's payment gateway, enabling Staah's hotel customers to accept Visa, Mastercard, and Amex payments with built-in fraud protection and 3DS tools, accessible within the Staah platform.
• Hotel Link SolutionscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerHotel Link Solutions embeds Hotel Link Pay, powered by Kovena, for streamlined check-in and check-out payment processing. Used by properties in Fiji and the Pacific Islands.
• BlueJayminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerListed as a partner on Kovena's landing page (kovena.com/landing/bluejay/), indicating a white-label or embedded payment integration relationship.
• NabookiminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerListed as a partner on Kovena's landing page (kovena.com/landing/nabooki/), indicating a white-label or embedded payment integration relationship.
• HomherominorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerListed as a partner on Kovena's landing page (kovena.com/landing/homhero/), indicating a white-label or embedded payment integration relationship.
• AbodeminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerListed as a partner on Kovena's landing page (kovena.com/landing/abode/), indicating a white-label or embedded payment integration relationship.
• VTOminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerListed as a partner on Kovena's landing page (kovena.com/landing/vto/), indicating a white-label or embedded payment integration relationship.
• ResBookminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerListed as a partner on Kovena's landing page (kovena.com/landing/resbook/), indicating a white-label or embedded payment integration relationship.
• FreeOnlineBookingminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerListed as a partner on Kovena's landing page (kovena.com/landing/fob/), indicating a white-label or embedded payment integration relationship.
• TH FreemiumminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerListed as a partner on Kovena's landing page (kovena.com/landing/thfreemium/), indicating a white-label or embedded payment integration relationship.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Planet (Planet Payment): Planet is a global payments and software platform with a strong hospitality and travel vertical providing integrated payments, FX, and reconciliation for hotels and chains; overlaps with Kovena on travel-specific embedded payments.
• Trust Payments: Trust Payments is a payment service provider with a dedicated travel vertical offering multi-currency processing, fraud prevention, and gateway services comparable to Kovena's hospitality-focused stack.
• CellPoint (alternative) / Spreedly: Spreedly provides payment orchestration and gateway routing infrastructure for platforms (including travel) that want flexibility across PSPs, comparable in architecture to Kovena's single-API multi-currency orchestration.

Broad incumbents

• Nuvei: Nuvei is a global payments processor with a strong travel and hospitality vertical offering embedded checkout, multi-currency, and fraud tools, serving OTAs, airlines, and hotels at scale.
• Stripe: Stripe provides global payment infrastructure with growing embedded/connect offerings and travel industry use cases; a key general-purpose competitor pursuing the same SaaS-platform embedding motion Kovena targets.
• Flywire: Flywire is a vertical payments platform serving education, healthcare, travel, and B2B with cross-border payment and FX capabilities; its travel vertical offers a comparable mix of multi-currency processing and travel-specific workflows.
• Adyen: Adyen is a global payment platform serving large travel and hospitality merchants with unified commerce, multi-currency processing, and embedded payments capabilities; a major incumbent threat to vertical specialists like Kovena.

Direct peers

• Cloudbeds Payments: Cloudbeds is a hotel management platform that has built/partnered embedded payments directly into its PMS, mirroring Kovena's core distribution model of embedding payments into hospitality software.
• CellPoint Digital: CellPoint Digital provides payment orchestration and optimisation solutions purpose-built for the travel industry (airlines, hotels, TMCs), directly comparable to Kovena's travel-vertical embedded payments focus and orchestration capabilities.
• Mews Payments: Mews is a hospitality PMS that has developed its own embedded payments solution for hotels, directly competing for the same embedded-PMS-payments opportunity that Kovena pursues with its white-label partner model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/company

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kovena