Enabling Seamless Payments Orchestration in Airline Retailing – Conexxia’s Perspective
- Aftab Khan
- Jul 21
- 2 min read
As the airline industry accelerates its shift toward modern retailing through the adoption of IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC), one critical component often lags behind — payments orchestration.
While NDC is revolutionising how airlines sell their products by enabling personalised offers, dynamic pricing, and multi-channel distribution, many airlines and travel businesses continue to wrestle with fragmented, inefficient, and costly payment processes.
At Conexxia, we believe that a seamless retailing strategy must be matched with equally intelligent payments orchestration.
The Payments Orchestration Problem
Payments orchestration refers to the ability to manage and route payments across multiple providers, methods, and geographies — all through a single, unified layer. In theory, it sounds straightforward. In reality, businesses face several persistent challenges:
1. Fragmented Infrastructure
Airlines often work with multiple payment service providers (PSPs), gateways, acquirers, and fraud tools — each with their own APIs, rules, and reconciliation processes. This results in complexity and operational drag.
2. Limited Flexibility Across Channels
With NDC enabling omni-channel retailing (direct, Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), Travel Management Companies (TMCs), etc.), many legacy systems struggle to maintain a consistent and frictionless payment experience across touchpoints.
3. High Transaction Costs
Without intelligent routing and optimisation, businesses may incur higher processing fees, cross-border charges, or sub-optimal acceptance rates.
4. Poor Visibility and Reconciliation
Siloed systems create gaps in end-to-end transaction visibility, leading to inefficiencies in fraud detection, customer service, and financial reporting.
Smart Payments Orchestration for a Modern Retail Era
Conexxia brings deep experience in financial process automation, data integration, and intelligent orchestration across the travel and banking sectors.
Unified Orchestration Layer
Implement flexible orchestration frameworks that abstract away the complexity of working with multiple PSPs. This enables airlines to plug and play different providers without rebuilding their core systems.
Real-Time Routing & Optimisation
Intelligently route transactions based on cost, location, risk profile, or payment method — improving acceptance rates and reducing payment costs.
End-to-End Integration with NDC Systems
Integrate orchestration with NDC platforms and order management systems, ensuring a consistent payment experience across all distribution channels — whether it’s direct booking, a corporate travel tool, or a metasearch site.
Advanced Reporting & Reconciliation
Real-time dashboards, automated reconciliation tools, and audit-friendly logs to streamline financial control and reduce manual effort.
Building Better Experiences for Businesses and Their Customers
For travellers, a seamless payment process means fewer declined cards, faster checkouts, and better confidence. For airlines, it translates into lower operational costs, stronger revenue capture, and greater agility in a competitive market.
At Conexxia, we see payments orchestration not just as a back-end task — but as a strategic enabler of modern retailing.
If your business is looking to enhance its payment stack to match the pace of NDC and digital transformation, we’d love to talk.
Aftab Khan
Sales Manager - Payment Consulting
On a mission to help change the world, one experience at a time
I collaborate with progressive businesses to deliver successful business outcomes in 4 key areas: Increasing Revenues, Improving Operational Efficiencies, Regulatory Compliance and Elevating Customer Experience, leading to sustainable business growth.
Connect with our team at Conexxia to fortify your payments landscape.
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