Airplus and Amadeus have joined together to create a virtual payment card for TMCs.
The Amadeus Airplus Travel Agency Card is designed to make it easier for agencies to complete transactions with suppliers such as rail companies, hotels and airlines which do not use IATA’s BSP system.
The card is being rolled out in the UK and Italy and will then be introduced to Germany and Switzerland.
The product, which will be accepted through Mastercard and UATP, allows TMCs to create a virtual credit card number through Airplus during booking and use that number to complete the payment. The process has also been integrated into the Amadeus Selling Platform.
Airplus managing director Patrick Diemer (pictured) said: “The combination of Amadeus’ travel sector expertise and our strong position as a leading payment services provider, make our joint proposition particularly well suited to face the challenges and needs of travel agency payments.”
Francisco Perez-Lozao, Amadeus’ senior vice president of new businesses, added: “The Amadeus Airplus Travel Agency Card is the natural next step in our payments services business expansion, and it nicely complements our capability to provide end-to-end payment solutions to the travel industry.”