airBaltic Expands Payment Coverage with Trustly

European payments company Trustly has today announced a partnership with the Latvian national airline airBaltic.

The agreement will make it possible for airBaltic’s customers to make online purchases for tickets and services directly from their bank account, using secure digital authentication methods supported by customers’ banks and facilitated by Trustly’s payment service.

Starting today, Trustly’s cross-border online banking payments are available for airBaltic’s customers in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Estonia and Poland. Six more markets will benefit from airBaltic’s new payment system during the first half of 2018. By aggregating bank transfer payment propositions through one partner, Trustly, airBaltic is able to focus on reaching new customers in new markets while centralizing financial settlement and reconciliation reporting.

Trustly’s service offers customers a secure and easy-to-use way to pay online, reducing the likelihood of customers abandoning initiated purchases. For the e-merchant, transaction and operational costs along with the risk for fraud is reduced, and the need for multiple payment intermediaries removed.

Jouni Oksanen, SVP E-commerce, Sales and Marketing of airBaltic, said: “Offering multiple payment methods is not only critical to lowering the purchase barriers and to increasing sales for airBaltic, but also to improving our service for customers, giving them the possibility to choose the payment method that is easiest and best fits their individual needs. The future of serving customers shopping for flights and simplifying their experience is the main focus for airBaltic in all digital channels.”

Mike Parkinson, Director of Travel at Trustly, said: “We are delighted to partner with airBaltic to deliver an immediate, localised payment proposition in both its home markets and developing markets on the airBaltic network. With the vast majority of consumers now researching and buying their flights online, it’s crucial for travel websites and online merchants to provide clear pricing and secure payment methods tailored to their customers’ preferences or they face seeing them head elsewhere.”