THE adoption of Iata’s new
generation of settlement
systems promises to
modernise and revolutionise
the way travel agents settle
airline funds, and now
offers agencies various
payment options.
Resolutions for the
full implementation of
the New Generation of
Iata Settlement Systems
(NewGenISS) initiative were
adopted at Passenger Agency
Conference (PAConf) last
month, and will be rolled out
progressively from March
next year.
The NewGenISS initiative
was developed with the
intention of modernising
Iata’s Billing and Settlement
Plan (BSP) and will allow
agents three levels of Iata
accreditation options to
choose from.
While Iata has said the
NewGenISS initiative is
expected to bring greater
options and flexibility to
travel agents, Asata ceo,
Otto de Vries, expects
there to be challenges.
He told TNW that while
the association fully
supported the principles
around modernising the
agency programme and was
optimistic that the outcomes
of New Gen ISS discussions
would result in a clear and
simplified opportunity to
introduce new forms of
payment, it was clear from
the outcome of the votes at
PAConf that these new forms
of payment would come with
many complexities and would
pose possible disruptions for
travel agencies.
The initiative has also
introduced a new payment
option – Iata EasyPay – a
pay-as-you-go e-wallet
solution that allows agents
to easily transfer additional
funds into an Iata account.
This enables agents to
lower their financial security
amounts held with Iata
while also allowing them
the flexibility to issue
transactions that are
not included in their BSP
remittance capacity.
The introduction of the
Global Default Insurance
option will offer agents
another cost-effective
security alternative, where
agents pay a premium to
insure themselves against
default. This is not to be
confused with the local
insurance product – the
Default Insurance Programme
(DIP), which is offered by
Jack and Seach Insurance
Brokers and underwritten by
Lloyd’s of London.
The scheme, to which
about a third of the market
already subscribe, offers
agents the option of paying
a fee per ticket in favour of
putting up a bank guarantee.
Another new initiative is the
Remittance Holding Capacity
(RHC), a risk management
framework designed to
mitigate losses resulting
from travel agency defaults.
This initiative will allow
agents a number of options
in order to continue to issue
cash tickets once their
monthly sales have exceeded
their bank guarantee during a
particular month.
The RHC will generally be
calculated based on the
average of the three highest
reporting periods of the
previous 12 months plus
100%.
The new initiatives are
expected to stimulate more
Iata licence applications.
Marco Cristofoli, coo
Bidtravel Leisure Cluster,
says the new accreditation
levels will bring more
entrepreneurs to the
marketplace as the initiatives
would lower entry barriers to
the industry.
“Currently, most new agents
choose to ticket through an
Iata-affiliated office. The new
accreditation options may
make it worthwhile for them
to apply for their own Iata
licence in future,” he says.
Perry Flint, Iata’s head of
corporate communications
for North America, believes
the additional levels of travel
agent accreditation could
stimulate new entrants into
the market.
