Deutsche Bank is partnering with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to launch an electronic real-time payment system for plane tickets.

The system will charge a fixed fee, with money taken direct from customer bank accounts, rather than via a credit or debit card. This is made possible by the EU’s payment regulation PSD2 which forces banks to give third parties access to customer data and initiate payments.

Deutsche Bank stated that it will offer better fraud protection for the airline trade association's members thanks to two-factor authentication.

The IATA estimated that the global airline industry’s payment processing costs add up to $8 billion a year, with credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard usually charging between one and three per cent in fees.

The fact that direct payments will be processed and received in near-real time also means airlines will reap from working capital and liquidity benefits.

Shahrokh Moinian, global head of cash products at Deutsche Bank, commented: “This solution marks our strong commitment to innovation and our desire to transform regulatory initiatives into opportunities for our major clients involved in the B2C industries - starting with IATA.”

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