Nium tapped by Air France and KLM for payments solution
Nium, a cross-border B2B payments platform based in the US, has unveiled its collaboration with Air France and Dutch airline KLM to facilitate “closed loop” electronic payments between the companies and selected travel agents.
Nium extends NAP to Air France and KLM
The two airlines are set to utilise the Nium Airline Payments (NAP) solution, which looks to offer an alternative to travel agent card transactions.
By leveraging a private network of trusted UATP (Universal Air Travel Plan) authorisation rails and bank transfers, NAP aims to simplify reconciliations, expedite settlements and lower costs.
Initially, Nium’s solution will be deployed to Air France and KLM’s travel agent system across Europe, starting in Italy, with further markets to follow.
Nium claims that NAP “eliminates intermediaries from the payment flow”, providing airlines with the “flexibility” to introduce a new payment option for selected travel agent partners.
John Taylor, head of airline payments at Nium, states that payments are no longer the “necessary cost of doing business” for airlines, but a “determining factor in distribution discussions, increasing control and collaboration within the indirect sales channel”.
These Nium partnership announcements come shortly after the firm concluded its $50 million Series E funding round, amid reports indicating that the enterprise is preparing for a potential IPO in 2025.
