UATP partners with Bitnet for bitcoin airline ticketing
Global payment platform Universal Air Travel Plan has teamed up with bitcoin payment processor Bitnet to offer UATP’s 260 airline partners the ability to accept bitcoin payments for flight bookings.
Although no airlines currently accept bitcoin transactions, the integration allows for a seamless transition when this changes.
"It’s putting a foundation in place that enables this global network of airlines to have a much lower barrier to entry if they wish to accept bitcoin," said Akif Khan, vice president of solutions strategy at Bitnet.
UATP, which counts JetBlue, Qantas, US Airways and United Airlines among its partner airlines, will not charge extra fees for bitcoin processing, but will be compensated by Bitnet.
Bitnet says transactions will be processed in a similar way to normal UATP payment methods and refunds will be made directly with bitcoins by airlines which eventually accept the cryptocurrency.
The company says it is in talks with airlines to accept bitcoin and will look at offering incentives for early adoption.
"We are very happy to be partnering with Bitnet to add bitcoin to our payment platform. We are always looking for skilled partners to bring additional forms of payment to the UATP processing platform and Bitnet fits the bill well," said Ralph Kaiser, president and CEO, UATP.
UATP processes about $14bn in payments from airlines, travel agents and Amtrak.
UATP has long advocated the flexibility of alternative payment methods; it was one of the early adopters of PayPal and also partners with Alipay.
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