Payment platform Link Money has partnered with flight booking platform Alternative Airlines to provide US customers with a simplified Open Banking payment experience. The collaboration seeks to enable travellers with a safe and easy method to pay for flights online, without having to use a credit card, by offering the Pay by Bank solution to US-based customers.

Open Banking payments and Link Money – Alternative Airlines partnership details Based on the information detailed in the press release, the partnership is set to provide Alternative Airlines’ customer base with the ability to carry out payments directly with their bank account, without going into debt or having to take on long-term payment plans. The collaboration between Link Money and Alternative Airlines sees the ease and security associated with direct, account-to-account payments brought to the travel industry in the US for the first time, with the news information highlighting that the integration was completed in July 2023 and is currently available to all US-based customers with a checking account in the US. When commenting on the announcement, Sam Argyle, Managing Director of Alternative Airlines advised that the company is on the constant lookout for ways to improve its customers’ experience and gain an advantage in the marketplace, adding that Link Money offers a convenient solution for those looking for an alternative to interest-bearing payments.

Further adding on this, Link Money CEO Eric Shoykhet expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating that the collaboration with Alternative Airlines comes as a milestone for the company. The spokesperson said that they are looking forward to cooperating with such an innovative company to provide guaranteed payments, and bank-grade security, as well as decreased transaction costs. Link Money offering and Alternative Airlines’ recent developments Link Money (Link Financial Technologies) is a payment platform that provides fast and secure payment solutions, enabling individuals to make transactions directly with their bank accounts, offering security, ease, and no-debt option, while providing merchants with lower fees than when compared to other payment methods.

A flight search and booking site, Alternative Airlines provides a quick, easy, and personalised way to book flights online, simplifying booking flights with more than 600 global airlines while providing an extensive array of more than 40 payment methods. When talking about the company’s global strategy, its focus throughout 2023 and going back to 2022 was that of offering its customer base alternative payment methods. The most recent announcement centred on cryptocurrency, with the company having announced a Binance Pay (a Binance-powered contactless, borderless, and secure cryptocurrency payment technology) collaboration in July 2023 which sought to revolutionise the travel industry by popularising the use of cryptocurrencies for flight payments.

Earlier in February of the same year, it partnered with Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) provider Atome to provide travellers in Asia with flexible payment methods. Throughout 2022, the focus permeating throughout the company’s collaborations was on Buy Now, Pay Later services. Come late September, it announced a partnership with Philippines-based digital instalment plan solution TendoPay to provide customers in the region with instalment payment options when booking flights on the platform.

At the beginning of the same month, it made public a separate collaboration with UK-based payments platform Clearpay which aimed to introduce a ‘Pay in 4’ service for flights for UK-based customers. .