Ai Events | Airline Information’s Post

Making the most of payments data to be in sync with latest trends #ATPS2025 Travel companies acknowledge that payments data isn’t a passive reporting tool, rather if all the dots are connected to see the whole picture then there is plenty to gain. As a merchant, #airlines, in conjunction with #payment specialists they work, must find ways to reap benefits on several counts. Some of the areas are: ·        Understanding the travel shopper: Transaction data provides an insight into how travel shoppers wish to pay, and how that choice varies from product to product and country to country. ·        Operational improvements and efficiencies: One major benefit is cutting down on the number of manual referrals when payments are processed. In the area of #paymentprocessing optimisation, airlines can focus on optimised routing. ·        Conversion rate: Conversion-related aspects like how long does it take to sign up to a payment method, how to optimize the experience for all the payment methods, as well as what is resulting in payment to fail etc. can have a huge impact on the financial performance. ·        Cash flow and liquidity: It is worth evaluating how merchants don’t end up getting impacted by liquidity issues i.e. acquirers holding sizable chunk of cash reserves from merchants until the service is delivered. As for working with acquirers, Elavon, Inc. urges the airlines to focus on missing data (departure date), downgrade report, pricing data and breakdown, and reconsider routing of transactions. ·        Dealing with chargebacks: It is always important for travel merchants to evaluate the nature of disputes, how the process works, and how to prevent them from happening. Looking at the data, merchants can conclude whether cardholders are winning disputes. Merchants need to ensure they rely on data and automation to better manage #chargebacks at scale. ·        Fraud prevention: Data can help in separating good and bad customers more efficiently. #Artificialintelligence is already paving the way for efficient transaction screening, reducing the need for manual intervention. How to make the most of payments data? By Ritesh Gupta, Ai Events Christopher Staab Damien Cramer Thomas Helldorff Lee Snyman Yang Li Andreea Pap Jim Alba-Duignan Discover Financial Services Visa Mastercard Worldline Worldpay J.P. Morgan Adyen LexisNexis Risk Solutions Stripe Paysafe Sift Cybersource Outpayce from Amadeus #travelpayments #ATPS2025

Blind Loyalty Challenge Ai Events | Airline Information's Christopher Staab recently participated in the Blind Loyalty Challenge. This 8-minute video challenge delves into various aspects of #loyaltyprogrammes. From exclusive experiences for elite travellers to the growing issue of #loyaltyfraud, it covers a wide range of topics. Additionally, it explores the positive impact of loyalty programmes on social responsibility and the emergence of eco-friendly initiatives. https://lnkd.in/g2VpgbN6 The Co-brand & Travel Rewards Conference, taking place 6-7 of November in Wilmington, Delaware (Philadelphia), will be supporting Blind Loyalty as its official event charity. Blind Loyalty will also be featured in our webinar on Doing Good with Loyalty on Thursday 17th October at 3pm British Time. Sign Up Here: https://lnkd.in/eDXnpbB2

Join us next Thursday (17 October) at 10am ET for a webinar looking at doing good with loyalty. 1) How and why can Loyalty Programs do good? 2) How can Loyalty Programs engage customers while being Socially Responsible? 3) What are the challenges faced by our panel, and by loyalty-related start-ups in general? Sign Up Here: https://lnkd.in/eDXnpbB2 Erin Murray Andy Choi Amanda Cromhout CADipL™️ Suzanne Tyson Kevin Crowe

General-purpose credit cards vs. travel co-brand cards for GenZ #Cobrand2024 #GenZ, known for their digital-first mindset and emphasis on experiences, approach #creditcard selection with a unique perspective. It is worth evaluating how this demographic goes about the same seeking benefits, especially in the context prioritising flexibility and value over specific #travel perks.   A recent report by pymnts.com indicated that co-branded cards have a sizeable market presence but relatively small user bases compared to general-purpose credit cards. Roughly 2.5 times more consumers have general-purpose credit cards than co-branded or store cards.   As for what works in the favour of general-purpose cards, these can be used for a wide range of purchases, from everyday expenses to larger purchases. This flexibility aligns with Gen Z's desire for options. Specialists point out that these cards offer competitive #rewards programmes, such as cash back, travel #miles, or #points, that can be redeemed for a variety of rewards. Gen Z often values the ability to customize their rewards based on their spending habits. Responsible use of a general-purpose card can help establish a positive credit profile.   Other than rewards, other important aspects that must be delved into are annual fee, interest rate and benefit like travel insurance.     While travel co-branded credit cards can offer specific travel perks, is it true that Gen Z may be less likely to prioritise these benefits, especially if they don't travel frequently or have a strong preference for a particular airline or hotel chain? How can they count on flexible redemption options in their category, enhanced perks like lounge access, digital-first features and so on.   How can travel merchants and banks can make a co-brand credit card offering more attractive? By Ritesh Gupta, Ai Events Christopher Staab Charles Christianson David Canty Mike Petrella Marc Berman James McClain Jr Peter Schinasi Scott Harrison arrivia Switchfly cxLoyalty Loyalty & Reward Co TWAI iSeatz KSG Allianz TripGift® - Travel Gift Cards

Operating a payments platform as a travel merchant Travel companies must manage a global #payments platform, a complex and multifaceted task. Keeping up with the evolving payments landscape is essential, characterised by numerous gateways, intricate routing challenges, and ever-changing compliance standards that are expensive to maintain. The ever-evolving payments ecosystem is driven by three external factors: regulatory initiatives (focusing on secure, inexpensive, and accessible transactions), #digitization (leading to a diversity of payment options), and globalization (managing payments as a global business, catering to diverse payment methods and regulatory needs). Chee (SheueChee) Beh and Nakul Kothari discussed these factors at the ATPSAPAC in Phuket, Thailand. Furthermore, travel merchants operating internationally must offer payment methods that cater to consumer preferences and provide substantial value. Key considerations: - Scalable and secure system architecture: Handle high transaction volumes and diverse payment methods. - Integration: Connect with various payment processors, banks, and financial institutions. - Technology: Utilize appropriate backend (e.g., databases, server frameworks) and frontend (e.g., web technologies, mobile frameworks) technologies. - Compliance: Ensure necessary licenses and certifications (e.g., PCI DSS for payment security). - Data protection: Implement robust measures to shield sensitive information. - Performance focus: Monitor platform performance, transaction volumes, and user behaviour. By Ritesh Gupta, Ai Events Christopher Staab Angella Esposito Wendy Ward Laurie Gablehouse Kristian Gjerding Toreson Lloyd Jacqueline Ulrich Sophia Melas #travelpayments #payment #ATPS2025 #airlines

Mitigating fraud - all departments should take the onus to combat it #ATPS2025 Fraud is rampant and continues to evolve, making it an arduous task for travel companies when it comes to dealing with several types of fraud. As observed during fraud-related sessions at the #ATPS2024 in London earlier this year, travel organisations have to be nimble to combat fraud, via apt structuring, buy-in from the management for a trained fraud team, and using an apt mix of tools and relying on data to offer fraud teams more time for data analysis, eventually better decision-making. Catherine Malec, Accertify, Inc. highlighted the issue of #accounttakeover (ATO), with over 24 billion #passwords exposed by hackers in 2022. Tami Eick highlighted that it is vital to evaluate who owns the problem (loyalty team, fraud team, #cybersecurity etc.). When it comes to performance indicators, do look at tangible metrics (e.g. lost sales; points liability; regulatory fines) and intangible metrics (e.g. brand reputation/ NPS). One can't ignore loss prevention and increased top line revenue. Few key learnings: ·        Integrate your security, account protection, and fraud systems to address different threat vectors. ·        Collaborate on a business case that both increases topline revenue and reduces fraud costs ·        Count on a variety of tools as applicable along with the human expertise ·        Devise a plan to deal with both organized groups and bots to stop ATOs By Ritesh Gupta, Ai Events Christopher Staab Jan-Jaap Kramer Brittany Allen Marjolein Grothauzen Egemen Ertop Peter Gross Jesse Martin-Alexander Kasada Rebekah Moody Darwinium #fraudprevention #loyaltyfraud #travel #fraudsters

Rewards for co-brand credit card holders - how are airlines playing their part? #CoBrand2024 You receive one or more complimentary business class vouchers as a reward/ award flight for your co-brand #credit card spend. The #airline states that the voucher’s validity is for a certain period, say three months. When you try booking a few weeks in advance the dates aren’t available. You try to book on a couple of occasions, but in vain. As much as you would be disappointed, your expectations with award flights or other vouchers would start going down. It then becomes imperative for the #airlines to look at how they can make the offer work for the card holder. More so in the case of infrequent travellers, who are trying to retain a certain status by showing a certain spend on the card, buying a stipulated number of air travel tickets etc.  From a personal experience as a card holder, some points to ponder for airlines:  ·         What does my data say about me as a traveller, as a card holder? ·         Have I used any of the vouchers – award flights, upgrades? ·         Did I ever inquire about the award flights or upgrades? What was the outcome? ·         What about my other interactions – virtually, offline etc.? ·         Which destinations have I travelled plus time of the flight, reason for trip, in-flight buy etc.? ·         Would the airline be willing to go beyond flight-related offers if the traveller isn’t able to use flight vouchers? ·         What sort of personalised offers suit me – discounts, promotions, birthday or anniversary discounts, product recommendations based on my previous buys etc.? ·         What benefits are working well within a particular loyalty status, and what does the traveller aspire for? How are airlines as co-brand partners looking at this issue? Hear from experts about the same at the upcoming Co-Brand & Travel Rewards 2024, scheduled to take place in Wilmington, Delaware (6-7 November 2024): https://lnkd.in/ezgufdnk By Ritesh Gupta, Ai Events Scott Harrison Christopher Staab arrivia iSeatz Do Good Points cxLoyalty Bond Brand Loyalty #travel #loyalty #miles #banks #hotels

Promoting micro-rewards to loyal travellers #Cobrand2024 Loyalty specialists focus on various aspects related to redemption and the related cycle. Of interest are continuity and irregularity in the earn and burn cycle, redemption frequency, metrics related to redemption and so on when one looks at engagement. Talking of engagement in #travelloyalty, micro-rewards provide frequent opportunities for members to earn #rewards, keeping them engaged and motivated to participate in the programme. These offerings can boost customer satisfaction by providing small but meaningful rewards that make members feel appreciated and valued. They can also help in collecting valuable data about preferences and spending habits. How to promote them to members? ·         Important to ensure members understand the micro-reward initiative ·         Tailor your promotions to individual members ·         Targeted email campaigns to promote micro-rewards ·         Featuring micro-rewards prominently in a loyalty app Hear from experts about the same at the upcoming Co-Brand & Travel Rewards 2024, scheduled to take place in Wilmington, Delaware (6-7 November 2024): https://lnkd.in/ezgufdnk By Ritesh Gupta, Ai Events Christopher Staab Steve Mathwig Trisha Asgeirsson George Wilson Anna Shimova Scott Harrison #cobrand2024 #travel #airlines #creditcard #loyalty #miles #points #hotels #banks

#innovation is a topic close to our hearts here at Ai Events! One broad, innovative trend that we've been seeing develop for a few years is loyalty meeting payments. And this is a great insight in to that from Jake Bailey from Tesco Bank. It's well worth a read. Not only are some of the numbers in terms of users of their loyalty program (Clubcard) amazing, but the strategy behind why they are putting payments and loyalty together is interesting too. Next year we are going to be running our payments and loyalty/ancillary events alongside one another so that more industry professionals can share best practice - Tesco are well ahead in this! If you have innovations to share in payments, ancillary, loyalty, co-brands (or fraud) as these topics all start to overlap, drop me or Christopher Staab a message as we are starting the agenda line up (and, for your diary, Dublin 20/21st of May 2025!) https://lnkd.in/evxu4vEH