Spain-based travel technology company Amadeus has applied for an e-money licence with the aim to embed fintech and payment services in the travel industry. The company is investing in a business named Outpayce in order to accelerate the pace of fintech innovation in travel.

More specifically, with the e-money licence, Outpayce can provide regulated services and offer card issuing and Open Banking capabilities in travel. Amadeus’ existing payments business will act as a foundation for Outpayce to launch an open API-based platform that helps third-party banks, payments, and fintech companies link up with travel companies. According to the official press release, Amadeus runs the IT systems for more than 200 airlines, hundreds of airports, thousands of travel agencies and hotel chains such as IHG.

This new API-based platform aims to help banks, payment and fintech companies of all sizes become more established in the travel fintech space. Amadeus wants to become a platform provider to the industry, and in order to advance this goal, it has already reached out to entities such as Citi, JP Morgan, and several BNPL providers. Fintech adoption in travel According to Amadeus’ research, airlines, hotels, and travel agencies are rapidly adopting fintech solutions despite the conservative trend that’s been a part of the travel industry historically.

The same research indicates that more than 80% of companies plan to either match or go beyond 2019 levels of investment in fintech innovation through 2023. For instance, companies such as Booking. com, Hopper, and AirAsia are offering new fintech services or launching new fintech businesses.

Companies are expected to invest in existing capabilities such as alternative payment methods and strong customer authentication, but they’re also looking into emerging priorities such as BNPL, multi-currency pricing, payments in NDC, and chargeback management. According to the research, the lowest priority for these firms was accepting crypto payments, but 14% do plan to invest in this capability during 2022. The research was conducted in Q1 2022 using an online survey that was completed by senior leaders at more than 70 large airlines and travel agencies.

Amadeus partnered Uplift In September 2022, Amadeus has partnered with travel specialist Uplift to bring BNPL services to its Amadeus Xchange Payment Platform (XPP), as part of a multi-provider BNPL ecosystem dedicated to travel. Through the partnership, airlines, travel agencies, and hotels can add BNPL options to their sales channels via a single connection to Amadeus. This makes ‘Uplift’ BNPL options more easily available to travellers across the US and Canada.

Travellers can choose to pay for travel in a series of installments over six, nine, or twelve months. For more information about Amadeus, please check out their detailed profile in our dedicated, industry-specific Company Database. .