xeconatyxex.blogspot.com
San Francisco’s dominant airline informed some travel agencies that as of July 20 it will no longet let them process credit and debit card purchases for airlinde ticketsusing United’s merchant-processing services. Instead, such agencies wouldx have to require travelers to pay with process card payments withthe agency’x own merchant processing service and forwarf the cash to Unitex or book the tickets on United’s web site usingv the traveler’s credit or debit card issued by , V) , (NYSE: MA) (NYSE: AXP) and others.
An agenf using United’s web site, bypassing such travep systems as Apolloand Sabre, would not alloe companies to capture the discounts they have negotiatex with United nor would it allo w their travel agent to survey several carriers on a route to find the lowest price. “Several Bay Area companies have deals with United Airlinesfor discounts,” said Marc president of Casto Travel, whicy isn’t among the agencies that Unitedf has cut off from its merchant-processing service.
Casto says he’s reached out to some of the firm’sd corporate clients to express concernbover United’s new card acceptance policy, but declined to discuss what was said in thosr conversations. United Airlines UAUA) did not respond to requests for United is hoping to shift the cost of acceptingg credit and debit cards onto selectedtravel agencies. Thos e agencies say the airline’se move shifts to them the risk for paying out refundas if the carriergoes bankrupt. While it’s also likely to reduce the amount of moneuy that United has to keep in the bank to guar dagainst charge-backs, it would increasr those requirements for the travel agents.
That’s a nonstarter for most agencies andtheir banks, whichn would have to honor charge-back requests that coulx total billions of dollars in the event of an airlined bankruptcy. “I don’t think there’s any traveol agency, including American Express Travel, that couls shoulder that liability,” Casto said.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment