No more hassle purchasing add-on services at the airport with new payments solution

In today's hyper-connected world, airports can take a toll on the traveller.

Have you ever wondered why, after queuing to check a bag in, you have to walk to an airline ticket office to pay for excess luggage or a flight upgrade?

This usual scenario is because shared check-in desks cannot accommodate the specific payment needs of multiple airlines and ground handlers.

Faced with this situation, the traveller might think twice before bothering to pay for extra legroom at all.

Airport payments will soon become smoother as Amadeus and Ingenico launch Amadeus Airport Pay, a wireless payment solution in the industry which accepts EMV chip (found in debit and credit cards) payments and can be used by multiple airlines and ground handlers and multiple banks.

With Amadeus Airport Pay, airlines and ground handlers can now reach any passenger with an EMV chip card or an EMV-compliant mobile wallet in any airport worldwide, regardless of the check-in infrastructure, allowing airlines worldwide can deploy quickly.

As a result, airlines can convert more ancillary sales by offering travellers a fast and secure payment method that overcomes the inconveniences generally faced by travellers at airports.

Because Amadeus Airport Pay is not bound to any physical infrastructure, airlines and ground handlers can take payments anywhere in the airport.

Lufthansa Group, as the launch partner, will start rolling out the solution at check-in desks and ticket offices in over 170 airports around the globe in June, improving the airport experience for travellers by providing seamless and secure payment options without disrupting their travel journey.

 "As an IT solution, Amadeus Airport Pay gives the Lufthansa Group full control over its payment infrastructure by enabling connections with a wide range of payment providers," Lufthansa payment projects group team management Philipp Vetten.

Amadeus also makes it easy for airlines and ground handlers to connect to the banks of their choice.

Amadeus Airport Pay can be fully integrated into the airline's sales flow, meaning payments are faster, more accurate and automatically accounted for.

With over 5billion chip cards in circulation globally, EMV has cemented its place as the leading card-present payment technology.

EMV represents a significant improvement in the way payment card fraud is detected and prevented, as EMV cards will have enhanced anti-fraud capabilities at the physical point of sale.

At airports, EMV terminals are ubiquitous in duty-free shops but still a rarity in airline check-in desks.