International visitors spending money in European hotels, restaurants, and retail stores encounter a specific payment experience that most of them barely notice but that generates significant revenue for the companies managing it — dynamic currency conversion. Planet Payment was founded in Ireland in 2003 as a specialist in currency conversion at point of sale, giving international cardholders the option to pay in their home currency when transacting abroad. That single capability — well-executed and widely distributed — built a business that expanded into broader payment acceptance and merchant services for the hospitality and retail sectors. Planet acquired Global Blue's payments division and a series of other payment businesses, evolving from a currency conversion specialist into a full-service payment and currency management platform serving hotels, retailers, and healthcare providers across Europe and beyond. The international hospitality sector — hotels, luxury retail, and tourist-facing businesses — generates a disproportionate volume of international card transactions, making it a concentrated market for currency conversion and payment optimisation services. Planet's deep integration with hospitality property management systems and point-of-sale platforms gives it a distribution advantage in that sector that is difficult to replicate.