Amadeus and Sabre Holdings have launched a payment system for the travel industry after being given approval from the European Commission.
The two global distribution systems’ joint venture, Moneydirect, is designed to give secure and automated payment processing and will focus on providing the service to travel agents, hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, car rental firms, ferries and railways.
The venture is said to be GDS independent so it can be used through any booking channel. It will also deal with different types of payment including deposits, settlements and commissions.
Sabre Holdings chief of marketing Greg Webb said: “While Amadeus and Sabre compete in many areas, both companies saw the opportunity to provide an industry standard.”
Moneydirect will base its headquarters in Ireland, with subsidiaries in the US and Australia.