Emirates is the leading travel and transportation company in the world

Emirates is leading airline bids to avoid high-cost payments on credit card companies, with the carrier being the first to follow a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank.

The Dubai carrier has set up a long-term delayed payment method for real tickets made by a German lender on behalf of the International Air Transport Association, an airline marketing agency.

The scheme facilitates real-time payment from customers booking tickets on the Emirates page, the money being transferred directly to the carrier without the involvement of others.

The goal of Emirates and other airlines is that customers choose to use them instead of just paying with cards like Visa and Mastercard.

Emirates does not disclose the amount of money it expects to achieve through the new program. Between 60 and 70% of all tickets sold by Middle East carriers are paid by credit cards, while the remainder is deducted through national fees.

Airlines have to pay credit card companies between 1 and 3 percent of the cost of tickets, with the main ones approaching the actual end, according to company executives. In contrast, Emirates machines, known as Iata Pay, pay a fine of only a few cents in euros, regardless of ticket price.

“For us, this is a huge difference,” Emirates economist Michael Doersam told the Financial Times, adding that fines for donors are one of the biggest factors in its retail price.

Prior to the epidemic, Iata estimates that international flights cost $ 8bn a year to pay off credit card companies and other foreign investors.

For Deutsche Bank, Iata Pay is a “very important service”, according to Christof Hofmann, global banking and payment solution provider.

The German lender, who two years ago pledged to reduce reliance on fixed-income banking, has realized making money as one of the fastest growing markets. Stefan Hoops, CEO of Deutsche company, adauza FT last year it had a “very good approach”.

The bank last month announced an agreement with US fintech Fiserv to provide electricity to small and medium-sized companies in Germany. Other airlines are discussing the use of the new program, according to Deutsche.

Emirates has called the new payment system “Emirates Pay”, and Doersam said “we are already seeing the initial transactions with Emirates Pay and are very satisfied.”

The carrier may eventually encourage customers to use it – for example, large shipping costs, free upgrades for high-legged chairs, or special prices that can be secured through Emirates Pay.

However, Iata Pay has suffered from significant delays. The airline has hired Deutsche in early 2018 with a view to releasing it later that year. However, the difficulties associated with European banking regulations have arisen and the epidemic has contributed to the delay.

“Now is the time to start,” insisted Hofmann, pointing to the slow-moving breathing spans of traffic and lowering the epidemic-related travel restrictions.

Iata told FT it was “fun” to give this white answer to the aircraft “but declined to comment.