News
May 15, 2025
News
May 10, 2025
Payment challenges in the airline industry
Payment is a crucial aspect of the commercial relationship between airlines and their customers. While debit and credit cards remain the most prevalent payment instruments in the airline industry, travelers increasingly expect airlines to also support a variety of regional and local payment methods.
Customers might not have or want to use a card to pay for airline tickets.
According to the 2023 IATA Global Passenger Survey, 38% of the surveyed passengers expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of flexibility in airline payment offerings, and 25% did not purchase additional services due to payment issues. Additionally, differences in customer expectations are also evident between age groups within the same country. For example, younger generations prioritise simplicity and speed when using a payment instrument, whereas older generations favour using a secure service – as highlighted in GlobalData’s Online Consumers Payment Analytics 2023. Consequently, airlines are under growing pressure to expand their range of supported payment instruments to meet customer expectations and enhance the overall travel experience.
These challenges and opportunities highlight the need for airlines to modernise their payment capabilities and systems to meet evolving customer expectations and enhance their operational efficiency. A wider harmonisation, modernisation and standardisation of the ageing card payment messages with payment protocols for new digital payment instruments could enable these innovations.
The airline sector faces significantly higher chargeback rates compared to other industries. This is mainly attributed to the nature of airline services. Tickets are high-value items that are usually purchased online, opening up the airline to liability for claims of payment fraud. The financial impact of chargebacks on airlines can be substantial, affecting both revenue and operational efficiency.
Key challenges:
- Expensive Card Fees & Chargebacks → Airlines lose millions in payment processing.
- Slow Refund Processing (5–7 Days) → Leads to customer dissatisfaction.
- Cost of delayed settlement from acquirers → Affects the cash flow.
- Limited Payment Flexibility for International Travelers and younger generations → Not all travelers have access to credit cards or would prefer to use them.
Fliqa for Airlines
Modernizing airlines payment options
Fliqa is a next-generation open banking and blockchain-powered payment platform designed to eliminate inefficiencies, high fees, and compliance burdens in traditional financial transactions. By integrating payment initiation services (PISP) and account information services (AISP) with Web3 capabilities, Fliqa provides faster, more secure, and lower-cost transactions for businesses operating in regulated and high-risk industries.
Key benefits:
- Lower transaction costs up to 70 %: Reduction in card network fees and chargebacks.
- Faster settlements: Instant confirmation and payouts to passengers and vendors.
- Improved customer experience: Faster refunds, real-time payments, and seamless transactions.
- New revenue streams: Smart upselling based on customer financial data insights.
