GENEVA — Payment fraud costs the industry an estimated US$858 million annually, and while about $639 million of that is shouldered by airlines, the remainder impacts other participants in the travel value chain, including travel agents. IATA says it will expand its activities to prevent payment fraud and is cooperating with Ypsilon Net AG to make IATA Argus Fraud Manager (IATA Argus) available to airlines and travel agents. Ypsilon AG is an integrated IT and payment solutions provider for the travel industry.

IATA notes that while some airlines already use a range of systems to reduce fraud activity in their direct sales, “IATA Argus offers a unique, fully-integrated and automated payment fraud detection and management solution for both travel agents and airlines”.

“IATA is committed to helping the industry fight fraud,” said Aleks Popovich, IATA’s Senior Vice President Financial and Distribution Services. “Our partnership with Ypsilon Net AG brings a modern fraud prevention solution that meets the needs of both airlines and travel agents to reduce fraud and increase the confidence in generating new sales via all available distribution channels.”

By accessing information available in the GDS, IATA Argus is able to detect suspect transactions from as early as the booking request stage, and flag them or even cancel them as appropriate, he said. It can notify the agent or airline of a suspicious booking, and automatically take action to void, suspend or cancel a ticket.

“You cannot segregate fraud occurring on airline direct channels from fraud generated through travel agency or online travel agency channels. IATA Argus combines ease of implementation and cost efficiency in a system that protects all channels effectively and provides full automation,” said Hans-Joachim Klenz, CEO of Ypsilon Net AG.