IATA adds digital currencies to its bag of bill settlement options

October 29, 2024 in Business, Communications, Companies, Financial Services, Technology & Telecoms by Editor

IATA, the International Air Transport Association is set to offer digital currencies in the financial settlement systems it operates for the aviation industry.

The airline lobby says the digital Renminbi, is the first digital currency to be offered and it will be available in the China Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) by the end of 2024.

“China is one of the most advanced countries in the world in the adoption of digital currency. Recognizing the trend, IATA’s China Airline Committee requested for the digital Renminbi to be included in the BSP. This is an important development and IATA will accommodate the digital Renminbi by year-end,” says Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Financial Settlement and Distribution Services.

IATA explained that as digital currencies permeate deeper into daily life, and their usage becomes common, it is imperative that its industry financial settlement systems adapt “to support the needs of those using our services.”

Albakri says IATA is examining the possibility of adding other digital currencies to its settlement systems based on the needs and requirements of the industry, and the digital Renmimbi will act as a learning template for expansion of digital currency offerings. “The experience gained in introducing the digital Renminbi will help IATA in onboarding other digital currencies in the future.”

Additional Currency in ICCS

In July 2024, IATA added the Renminbi Offshore (CNH) currency to its IATA Currency Clearance Service (ICCS), bringing the total number of currencies handled by the service to 74. The ICCS is IATA’s global cash management system. It enables airlines’ treasurers to repatriate their sales funds worldwide to their preferred nominated currencies.  This results in an accelerated and improved working capital management and reduced foreign exchange risks.

“At the heart of the integration of the digital Renminbi and all other settlement system work is a need to serve the customer and adapt to their behavioral changes in payment methods. Payment should be seamless. A customer shouldn’t be frustrated by not having their payment method of choice available. Nor should airlines lose out on deriving the proper value from their ticket sales,” said Albakri.