TRAVEL MERCHANT

NDMS provides travel merchants the ability to accept payments for vacations, timeshares, cruises, hotel, airfare and rental cars.  We can also help you successfully develop your online business, which offers the following advantages:

• Enabling your website to become a direct sales generator
• Credit and debit card acceptance can increase your sales revenue through the Internet
• Secure payment processing and real time transaction monitoring can considerably reduce the risk of fraud

Unfortunately, travelers are frequently forced to cancel their plans at the last minute.  This is generally considered high risk when it comes to card processing because the bank responsible for your merchant account is at an increased risk of financial loss.  As a tier one processor, NDMS is pleased to work with agencies on risk management and proving the best rates possible.

Tips to Follow

Recognize your potential sales agent liability. Understanding risk exposure can help travel agencies take appropriate steps to minimize risk and to protect themselves from losses resulting from customer disputes and fraud.  Sales agents of airlines, for example, may be liable for the entire amount of an airline ticket, if it is disputed by a customer or purchased with a stolen account number.  To mitigate risk, travel agencies need to establish eCommerce policies and procedures to address the following factors:

• An approved authorization request indicates that an account is in good standing.  However, the response is not a proof that the legitimate cardholder is making the purchase, nor is it a guarantee of payment.  In most cases, therefore, airlines are liable for fraudulent "card-not-present" transactions, even when they were approved by the card issuer.
• Even if a travel agency is not a subject to certain Credit Card Associations' regulations, the airline partner is.  In most fraud-related cases, the airline transfers financial liability to the travel agency partner as part of the contractual agreement.