Recent changes regulations in markets means it now possible for merchants to accept payment from consumers using direct, account-to-account transfers.
As airlines seek to best meet the needs of travelers and reduce the overall cost of payments, account-to-account payments are becoming very popular, and they represent a new option for travelers to pay for air tickets.
IATA and Outpayce have partnered to allow airlines to best meet the needs of travellers and reduce the overall cost of payments through the new payment option.
Payments will be made possible with IATA Pay through Outpayce’s Xchange Payments Platform (XPP).
The trade association for airlines is one of the first partners to connect to Outpayce’s Xchange Payment Platform using its new self-service APIs, being piloted in 2024.
IATA Pay, an alternative account-to-account way to pay for air tickets purchased online, directly debits a customers bank account.
It leverages the new account-to-account rails and regulations developed by countries around the world such as India (UPI), the Netherlands (Ideal), Brazil (PIX) or Philippines (QR Ph).
IATA Pay is currently available in more than 30 countries. At checkout on an airline’s website, the new account-to-account payment service allows travellers to select their bank or scan a QR code depending on the country.
IATA uses the payment and bank details or the QR code’s approval to request a transfer from the passenger’s account and the funds are transferred using the banking rails.
IATA then settles the funds with the airline the following day.
Juan Antonio Rodriguez, director financial settlement operations of IATA, said: “The trend towards account-to-account payments is gaining more momentum. It provides a seamless experience for passengers and provides an attractive option for airlines to lower the cost of payment acceptance.
“Through Outpayce, airlines using XPP can begin to accept IATA Pay while still benefiting from XPP’s powerful orchestration, analytics and reporting capabilities.”
Anna Isabel Bengzon, chief financial officer of Philippine Airlines, said: “We are pleased to now accept IATA Pay in the Philippines.
“It will provide our passengers a more convenient and secure way of paying via QR code using their digital wallets, which is highly prevalent in the country, or through their bank accounts.
”Outpayce’s XPP system helps us to intelligently accept a wide range of payment methods used by travelers across the international markets we serve.
“Moreover, we can access various payment methods and partners through XPP, with detailed analytics on the performance of payment flows and back-end reconciliation support.”
Jean-Christophe Lacour, SVP and head of product management and delivery of Outpayce, added: “We’re committed to helping travel companies accept the widest possible range of payment methods through a single connection to XPP and IATA Pay represents an interesting new option for the industry.
“By making it easier for partners to connect to XPP using self-service APIs we intend to broaden this choice even further.”