SITA has launched a payment solution that enables transactions by multiple airlines to be processed on a single payment terminal.
SITA AirportConnect Common Use Payment Service aims to address the need for airlines to accept payments securely at airports while using a shared IT infrastructure.
The solution allows airlines to accept payments at common-use check in desks, kiosks and bag drop areas for baggage fees, upgrades and other ancillary charges.
It combines point-to-point encryption (P2PE) technology, with Europay, Mastercard, Visa (EMV) and Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant chip card payment terminals, applications and processes, to allow multiple merchants to use the same terminal while meeting PCI security standards.
Barbara Dalibard, CEO, SITA, said, “This new service, integrated with our SITA AirportConnect platform, allows airlines, airports and other air transport industry stakeholders to accept credit card payments in a common-use environment in line with Payment Card Industry standards.
“Our service features point-to-point encryption to provide a powerful, flexible solution for all stakeholders to ensure the protection of customer data.”
SITA’s common-use payment service allows airlines to share the same point of sale and PIN entry devices at the airport, while continuing to use their preferred payment service providers and banks. The service is also designed to minimize fraud risks by implementing encryption with EMV card readers.
SITA has implemented the service with a European airline at a common-use airport where testing proved the effectiveness of the encryption technology for chip, magnetic stripe and contactless card payment transactions.
The solution is a product of work with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Common Use Working Group in collaboration with various payment industry leaders, including Verifone, Thales and Smart Technology Solutions.
Peter Galvin, vice president for strategy at Thales e-Security said: “Thales’s extensive expertise and leadership in the payment security market, enriched by our long-standing partnerships with leading payments processing vendors, allows us to help innovators such as SITA deliver the high levels of performance and security required for payment processing.”