By Adedapo Adesanya
Flutterwave has joined the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) payment orchestration platform to facilitate travel-related payments easily to sub-Saharan Africa.
With this integration, airlines worldwide can process customer payments through cards, bank transfers, mobile money, alternative payment methods and other payment modes available on Flutterwave.
IATA Financial Gateway (IFG) is an omnichannel payment orchestration and management platform fully dedicated to the airline industry. It has been designed to allow airlines to receive local payments from local markets through all their distribution channels.
IATA has some 290 international airlines; this partnership enables them to easily expand their operations in Africa while receiving bookings and payments from customers in Africa using local and international payment methods.
Airlines and travel agencies can use Flutterwave via IFG to accept many forms of payment from customers when booking airline tickets.
Instead of managing multiple complex connections to payment service providers in Africa, IFG offers a single global connection, with full end-to-end control of payment and settlement processes and seamless integration with ticketing systems and distribution channels.
Global airlines looking to collect local currencies through cards and indigenous methods of payments will find this integration useful, as it makes payments seamless for their millions of customers in Africa and other markets where Flutterwave operates.
Speaking on this, Mr Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave CEO & Founder, said, “According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Africa is set to become one of the fastest-growing aviation regions in the next 20 years with an annual expansion of nearly 5 per cent.
“How can we further accelerate this growth? One way is to ensure airlines can easily set up operations across the continent and seamlessly receive payments from their customers.
“This partnership with IATA solves the problem of payments for global airlines venturing into Africa. We hope that this encourages more global airlines to expand into Africa.”
On his part, Mr Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Senior VP of Financial Settlement and Distribution Services, said, “The IATA Financial Gateway supports the availability of new payment options in many markets.
“We welcome Flutterwave’s participation to bring secure and innovative payment methods to airlines, travel resellers and the travelling public in Africa.”
