Nium, the global leader in real-time global payments, announced a collaboration with Air France and KLM to power “closed loop” electronic payments between the airlines and selected travel agents. The Nium Airline Payments Solution (NAP) provides an alternative to travel agent card transactions, using a private network of trusted UATP authorization rails and bank transfers to offer lower costs, simplified reconciliation, and faster settlement.

NAP eliminates intermediaries from the payment flow, giving Air France and KLM the flexibility to provide a new payment method for selected travel agent partners. Using NAP, Nium guarantees payment acceptance and reduces settlement time from hours down to minutes and seconds.

“For decades, the travel industry has been grappling with complex, slow, and expensive payment methods. Nium is helping travel agents and their airline and hotel partners unlock the potential of global real-time payments, transforming the way money moves through the travel ecosystem for the better. We look forward to helping Air France and KLM resolve some of the inequities – for both the airlines and for the travel-selling intermediaries – associated with outdated traditional payment models,” said Spencer Hanlon, Global Head of Travel Payments at Nium.

For travel agents, payment speed, efficiency, and acceptance rates are very important. NAP is an innovative electronic payment method that combines these three critical elements on one platform. It offers a seamless payment acceptance process to the benefit of airlines and travel agents alike, boosting conversion rates, improving operational efficiencies, and increasing margins. The airline and travel agent enter into a bilateral agreement, facilitated by Nium, on the use of the platform. This creates a one-to-one “closed loop” transparent commercial relationship between the travel agent and airline.

“We built NAP with the goal of creating a more equitable and sustainable model between airlines and their agent partners around the world. For airlines, payments are no longer the necessary cost of doing business, but a determining factor in distribution discussions, increasing control and collaboration within the indirect sales channel. It’s great to welcome Air France and KLM to the NAP family and we look forward to bringing the solution to its travel agent network together,” added John Taylor, Head of Airline Payments at Nium.