Airline Ticket Agency Payment Solution

Travel ticket agencies operate across a highly fragmented payment landscape. They collect payments from OTA platforms in one market while purchasing tickets from airlines, GDS partners and other travel suppliers in another. This creates a natural two-sided payment needs:
  • Collect from OTA platforms
  • Pay airline suppliers
By combining acquiring, a Travel Payments Account and Virtual Commercial Cards (VCCs), travel ticket agencies can connect both sides of the transaction within one integrated fund flow.

Client Profile

Client: SkyBridge Travel (fictional)
Let's imagine a fictitious airline ticket agency named SkyBridge, who sells international flight tickets to domestic OTA platforms while purchasing the corresponding tickets from overseas airlines.
Its payment operations therefore involve two connected transaction flows:
  • Travel ticket agencies sell flight tickets to OTA platforms
  • Supplier payments from the platform to airlines
The following diagram shows how both connected transaction flows happens:
image.png
Figure 1. Payment operations of airline tickets booking
As booking volumes increase, managing these flows through separate acquiring, banking and corporate card arrangements creates operational complexity, fragmented liquidity and reconciliation challenges.
The Travel Payments Account provides a unified business account that connects customer collections with supplier payments.

Business Model

Integrated Travel Payment Flow

When an OTA platform receives a booking, it completes payment to SkyBridge using a supported payment method.
The payment is processed through acquiring, and the collected funds become available in SkyBridge's Travel Payments Account.
When SkyBridge needs to purchase the corresponding ticket from an overseas airline, it can use available funds in the account to support a VCC payment to the airline.
This creates a more direct connection between incoming OTA platform payments and outgoing supplier payments.
The following diagram depicts how the entire funds flow occurs:
image.png
Figure 2. Fund flow of the airline tickets payment

Flow Description

Collect OTA Platform Payments
OTA platforms pay for flight bookings through supported payment methods such as cards, bank-based payment methods or local payment options.
Platform payments are processed through the acquiring infrastructure and collected into SkyBridge's Travel Payments Account.
Manage Funds in One Account
Collected funds are consolidated in the Travel Payments Account, giving SkyBridge centralised visibility over available balances.
Instead of moving settlement funds across multiple banking accounts before making supplier payments, funds can remain within the same payment ecosystem and be used for subsequent travel payments.
Convert Funds When Required
SkyBridge may collect OTA platform payments in one currency while the airline requires settlement in another.
Funds can be converted into the required payment currency before the supplier transaction is initiated.
Pay Airlines with VCCs
Once a booking is confirmed, SkyBridge can generate a VCC and use it to pay the relevant airline.
The VCC can be associated with a specific booking or supplier payment, making individual transactions easier to control, track and reconcile.
Reconcile Booking and Payment
Transaction data from OTA platform payment collection, fund management, FX and VCC payment can be linked back to the underlying booking reference.
This gives SkyBridge greater visibility across the full transaction lifecycle.

Product Capabilities

OTA Platform Payment Collection

Enable SkyBridge to accept payments from OTA platforms through supported local and international payment methods.
The acquiring layer provides the entry point for platform funds into the broader payment flow.
Key capabilities:
  • Card acquiring
  • Supported local payment methods
  • Transaction status tracking
  • Refund support
  • Collection reconciliation

Travel Payments Account

The Travel Payments Account is an integrated business account that connects OTA platform collections with supplier payments.
Funds collected from OTA platforms can be consolidated into one account, allowing SkyBridge to view and manage available liquidity before making airline payments.
Key capabilities:
  • Centralised account balance
  • Real-time balance visibility
  • Transaction history
  • Fund consolidation
  • Supplier payment funding
The account simplifies the fund flow from: Collect → Hold → Pay without requiring SkyBridge to manually move funds across multiple payment and banking systems.

Multi-Currency Fund Management

International ticketing naturally involves multiple currencies. SkyBridge may collect payments in one currency while airlines require payment in USD, EUR, SGD or other supported currencies.
The Travel Payments Account enables the platform to manage supported currency balances within one environment.
Key capabilities:
  • Multi-currency balances
  • Currency-level balance visibility
  • Fund holding
  • Centralised fund management

FX Conversion

SkyBridge can convert available funds into the required supplier payment currency before paying the airline. This supports a more integrated workflow between OTA platform collection and international supplier settlement.
For example, when the airline company's accepted payment currency is in USD, but the payment received from the OTA platform is in another currency (e.g., MYR), SkyBridge has to hold the payment and convert the amount into USD before paying the airline company.
Key capabilities:
  • Currency conversion
  • FX transaction records
  • Conversion before VCC payment
  • Centralised FX management

Virtual Commercial Cards

VCCs provide a controlled and scalable way for SkyBridge to pay overseas airlines.
Instead of relying on manually managed corporate cards or separate banking arrangements, VCCs can be generated programmatically for individual supplier transactions.
Key capabilities:
  • Virtual card issuance
  • Transaction-level card creation
  • Amount controls
  • Currency controls
  • Card status management
  • Supplier payment tracking
A VCC can be linked to a specific booking, making the supplier payment easier to trace and reconcile.

Booking-Level Payment Control

Travel payments often require close alignment between the booking record and the corresponding supplier payment. VCCs allow SkyBridge to structure payments around individual transactions.
For example, when a transaction was made, SkyBridge will receive the corresponding payment details which include:
  • Booking ID (e.g., 12345)
  • Airline: (e.g., GlobalAir)
  • Ticket Value: (e.g., USD 620)
  • VCC issued for USD 620
This gives SkyBridge stronger control over how much is paid, in which currency and for which booking.

Transaction & Reconciliation Management

SkyBridge can connect the different stages of the payment journey through transaction-level records. The full chain can be reconciled as:
Booking → OTA Platform Payment → Travel Payments Account → FX Transaction → VCC Payment → Airline
Key capabilities:
  • Transaction references
  • Collection records
  • Account transaction history
  • VCC transaction records
  • Payment status tracking
  • Reconciliation support
This helps finance and operations teams match OTA platform payments with airline supplier costs more efficiently.