What IATA Pay means
Card payments are expensive for airlines: interchange, scheme fees and chargeback risk all come out of the fare. IATA Pay offers an alternative built on account-to-account transfers. The traveller chooses to pay by bank at checkout, approves the payment in their banking app, and the money moves from their account to IATA's collection account. Once authorised, an instant transfer cannot be withdrawn by the sender.
Emirates was the first airline to use it, launching in Germany and the United Kingdom in July 2021, according to Skift. In February 2022 Standard Chartered announced it would power IATA Pay in India over the Unified Payments Interface. IATA's product page, viewed in November 2026, lists coverage across much of the euro area and the UK plus markets including Ghana, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Vietnam, Türkiye, the Philippines, Jordan and Australia.
The main channel is the airline's own website, but IATA says it also supports NDC, agency portals and group sales. IATA Pay transactions appear in BSP billing outputs under an IPAY category, although they settle separately from BSP agency sales.
The name causes confusion. IATA Pay is a consumer payment method sold to airlines; IATA EasyPay is a prepaid wallet that accredited agents use to issue tickets in the BSP.
How IATA Pay works
A payment passes from the traveller's bank to IATA and then to the airline in a fixed sequence.
- Traveller selects pay by bankAt checkout the traveller chooses the account-to-account option, which the airline's site or a partner payment platform presents using IATA Pay in the background.
- Airline requests the paymentThe airline sends the request to IATA Pay by API. IATA's banking partner then sends a payment request to the traveller's bank through open banking or a local request-to-pay scheme.
- Traveller approvesThe traveller authorises the transfer in their banking app, for example with UPI in India or iDEAL in the Netherlands. Funds move instantly to IATA's account.
- Airline confirms the bookingWith the payment confirmed, the airline issues the ticket or order. Refunds can be triggered by API and reach the traveller in real time.
- IATA settles to the airlineIATA pays the airline a lump sum the following day for the previous day's collections, with reports by API, SFTP or the IATA Pay admin portal.
IATA Pay in practice
Emirates was the launch airline for IATA Pay, offering it to customers buying on its website in Germany and the UK from July 2021. Deutsche Bank acted as the banking partner in Europe, Skift reported.
In India, Standard Chartered's February 2022 announcement said airlines could offer UPI Scan & Pay and UPI Collect through IATA Pay alongside cards, without separate integrations with several payment providers.
Illustrative case: an airline that sells in Spain and Malaysia connects once to IATA Pay. Spanish customers see Bizum, Malaysian customers see their local bank transfer option, and the airline receives next-day settlement in local currency, which it can repatriate through IATA's currency clearing service.
Who uses it
Advantages and limitations
Advantages
- There are no card chargebacks or holdbacks, because an authorised instant transfer cannot be reversed by the payer.
- IATA says processing costs can be far lower than card acceptance, citing savings of up to 99% for some airlines.
- Airlines receive next-day settlement rather than waiting for card acquirer payouts.
- One technical integration covers every market IATA Pay supports.
Limitations
- It only works where IATA has connected a local open banking or instant payment scheme, so coverage is not global.
- Travellers who rely on card protection or card loyalty points may still prefer to pay by card.
- It is mainly built for airline direct sales and does not replace BSP settlement for agency tickets.
- Savings depend on traveller uptake, which takes checkout design and local familiarity with pay-by-bank.
Frequently asked questions about IATA Pay
Which airline first used IATA Pay?
Emirates. Skift reported in July 2021 that the airline had started offering IATA Pay to customers in Germany and the United Kingdom, letting them pay for tickets on its website by debiting their bank account directly. It was described as the first airline to adopt the white-label system IATA developed with banking partners.
Is IATA Pay the same as IATA EasyPay?
No. IATA Pay is a payment method that airlines offer to travellers, who pay from their bank account. IATA EasyPay is a prepaid e-wallet that IATA-accredited travel agents fund themselves and use to issue tickets through the BSP. IATA itself warns against confusing the two services.
Can customers get a refund when they paid with IATA Pay?
Yes. The airline triggers the refund through IATA Pay's API and IATA says refunds to customers who paid this way are processed in real time. What the customer cannot do is reverse the payment through their bank as a chargeback, because an authorised instant transfer cannot be withdrawn by the sender.
How do airlines start using IATA Pay?
An airline signs a contract with IATA, supplies contact details and settlement instructions, and integrates either directly by API or through one of IATA's listed partners, such as a payment gateway or passenger service system provider. IATA's product page gives a dedicated IATA Pay contact for enquiries.
Run your agency on one booking platform
ReservationHub's Subscription Cloud Edition gives agencies GDS, NDC and low-cost content, B2B and B2C sales, and back office in one hosted platform.
See the SaaS platform