Center of expertise for Payment Cards to assist airlines

• Few airlines have in-house expertise in the Payment Card area. IATA can assist airlines in setting up or reviewing card acceptance procedures, putting an operational structure in place, advising on fraud prevention and detection, or even in training. Based on its expertise in International Card Schemes and close monitoring of alternative methods of payment, IATA can support airlines in reducing their distribution costs.

Lead and represent the airline industry

• Accepting payment cards, particularly in BSP sales, is a complex process due to the number of entities involved and the worldwide reach of the BSP. It is important that the needs and requirements of this industry are voiced and represented to the Payment Card Industry Security Standard Council (PCI SSC) and other groups. IATA has accepted this role and is pursuing issues for the benefit of the airlines - such as collaboration in the area of fraud prevention and detection, and cooperation with issuers and acquirers.
  
  

Services that simplify payment card manament 

• IATA, in collaboration with two leading players in the Payment Card industry (Accelya UK and Euroline/SEB), has developed  IATA CardClear and IATA CardAXS, allowing airlines to accept payment cards worldwide in local currencies. These products simplify the payment process (reduced number of merchant agreements and processing contracts), reduce network distribution costs (favourable terms and conditions) and provide consolidated and centralized settlement in multiple currencies at favourable rates.
  
  

PCI DSS compliance

• The Payment Card Industry has mandated that every entity that handles, stores and transmits payment card data has to adhere to certain standards in order to reduce the risk of data being compromised. IATA is a service provider to the airline industry (the BSP process) and is a merchant (accreditation of Travel Agents, selling of manuals, conferences, training, etc.).

Fraud prevention strategies

• Fraud is a worldwide problem and fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated. IATA is working to ensure that fraud prevention methods, such as CVX2 (Card Security Code), 3-D Secure (Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode) and AVS (Address Verification Service), are supported by agents, GDS and the BSP. Implementing fraud prevention and detection tools is challenging for airlines because of their global distribution network and multiple sales channels. IATA works with airlines, agents and GDS to develop solutions that complement the airlines' own efforts in fighting fraud.

Services

• Creditcard Optimisation Service (COPS) is a card-acceptance cost analysis and negotiation service. This service has reduced airline costs by $50 million.

• Perseuss is an online platform where airlines store and share information on tickets bought with fraudulent credit cards. This shared platform helps airlines identify and stop fraud.

• CardClear consolidates information on airline credit-card sales from all points of sale (travel agents, Internet, call centers), in all countries, into a single report. 

• CardAXS sends airline Visa and MasterCard payments from different countries to a single bank for settlement, reducing banking costs and streamlining accounting. It eliminates the need for banking relationships in multiple countries.

• CardStats consolidates an airline’s worldwide BSP credit-card transactions into a single report, giving quick, clear information on an airline’s card sales.