7th Sept. 2022, Colombo:
SriLankan Airlines has partnered with local banks, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and Hatton National Bank (HNB) for new internet payment gateway solutions for Visa and Mastercard payments. The newly integrated payment gateways will provide a superior user experience with greater payment options, convenience and security for customers purchasing air tickets and other value-added services from the SriLankan Airlines’ website using their Visa or Mastercard.
SriLankan’s upgraded Visa and Mastercard payment gateway system powered by BOC and HNB, allows customers the option of paying in their preferred currency out of 42 global currencies. Customers are also guaranteed a secure transaction due to the advanced fraud management capabilities built-into the system by HNB-CyberSource ‘Decision Manager’ tool.
The added convenience and security measures are expected to encourage customers to opt for purchasing air tickets and value-added services from the SriLankan website over brick-and-mortar channels. Further, purchasing directly from the airline’s website brings about other, often unique,benefits to customers. This includes benefits such as site-exclusive deals; a lowest fare guarantee; zero service charges; and the ability to make the first date change and cancel tickets 24 hours before departure at no cost.
Conrad Reshantha, Senior Manager Commercial Services & Support of SriLankan Airlines, stated, “The future of airline bookings will largely be contained to the digital sphere as more individuals migrate from traditional to online channels, given the clear advantages of the latter. The SriLankan Airlines’ online booking channel is cutting-edge and optimized to provide users an effortless experience and the means to book any ancillary service that they require to supplement their air travel including neighbor free or extra legroom seats, excess baggage, special meals and travel insurance.”
“We believe that these new partnerships will pave the way tofoster customer confidence in using the SriLankan Airlines’ website, and in time, increase patronage of the channel. As online sales take precedence, the airline is determined to enhance the customers’ digital experience and flexibility by consistently investing indeveloping and promoting the channel as a priority,” added Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Worldwide Sales & Distribution of SriLankan Airlines.
Efforts are underway to extend the new Visa and Mastercard payment gateways to other platforms that entail digital sales such as the call centre and mobile app of the airline and websites of SriLankan Aviation College and SriLankan Holidays. The airline is further working on introducing payment options such as China’s UnionPay and Japan’s JCB in the near future.
