ARC Task Forces to Focus on Credit Card Processes
by Michele McDonald /The Airlines Reporting Corp.’s (ARC) Credit Card Working Group created two new task forces, one focused on reducing credit card acceptance costs—including fraud and chargebacks—and the other on issues involved in supporting 3D Secure in the travel agency distribution channel.
The working group is made up of more than 60 representatives from 24 organizations involved with air ticket purchases using credit cards. It includes airlines, GDSs, processors, acquirers, and credit card companies.
It met at ARC headquarters for two days to discuss existing and emerging payment types, such as virtual card processing, 3D Secure and tokenization.
The working group aims to find ways to improve the customer experience, offer enhanced risk management tools, and lower costs for payment processing.
Safer online transactions
3D Secure, an initiative led by the credit card companies, is designed to make online shopping transactions safer by authenticating a cardholder’s identity at the time of purchase through Verified by Visa, MasterCard SecureCode or similar process.
A transaction using Verified by Visa or SecureCode redirects cardholders to the website of the card-issuing bank. The cardholder may then be requested by the bank to enter a password to be authenticated.
The 3D Secure task force will look at ways that the process could work in the offline agency world.
ARC’s Credit Card Working Group is made up of airlines, GDSs, processors, acquirers and credit card companies.