UATP: A Technology-Driven Future for the Payments Sector

As demand for technology-based financial services grows, amid an increasingly complex regulatory landscape, organisations like UATP have continually adapted to suit a changing payments landscape.

First founded as Air Travel Card, UATP’s mission is to lower the total cost of payment for the sale of travel, including airline, rail and cruise line tickets. It is a global network that provides innovative payment solutions for a broad range of organisations. 

The organisation has evolved into one of the largest global payment platforms in the world, priding itself on offering a secure and easier way for businesses to manage payments. It also seeks to open new markets and drive growth for merchants, vendors and agents alike.

First becoming CEO of UATP in 2003, Ralph Kaiser has embraced digital transformation as a driving force within the financial services sector.

“It's all been about technology,” Ralph shares, as he speaks with us about how his role at the helm of UATP has changed. “We are doing things today that we didn't have the technology to do 20 years ago. Our customers asked us to solve certain payment problems, and, over time, we've built those solutions to support those needs.” 

Maximising value with technology 

UATP is an established leader in simplifying complex payment processes. It commits to innovative projects and strategic partnerships to optimise its services and offer more effective solutions for its customers.

In an environment that is increasingly regulated, UATP has sought to position itself to comply without sacrificing its innovation. As a result, UATP has boosted its staff numbers by 20% in the last 18 months and, despite its small size, is currently processing in excess of US$20bn. 

“We've been on this accelerated technology growth curve,” Ralph says. “Ironically, the pandemic allowed us to turn inward and focus on building out the platform, which we did successfully. We just received our third patent as a result. We call ourselves an 88-year-old startup.”

UATP now comprises three main lines of business – one of which is its charge card B2B payment network. This was UATP’s founding business, which is still experiencing double-digit growth and profitability. 

As technology has influenced the financial services industry, more companies have prioritised digital payments for ease and convenience. In response to this, UATP has committed itself to prioritising digital growth, boasting three patents in the last three years alone as referenced above.

“We have another business where we process alternative payment brands for airlines. Anything that's not on a traditional card network is considered an alternative method of payment,” Ralph explains. “For many alternative payment methods, for example, with PayPal, when a traveller buys an airline ticket, there’s a high chance that it’s running on our network in the background. We just move the data between the airline and PayPal, which we have been doing since 2007.”

More recently, UATP launched a merchant services platform called UATP One, where the company processes payment transactions of all kinds for merchants.

“That business is something airlines have been asking us to do for quite a while,” Ralph says. “We launched it in earnest in 2022 coming out of the pandemic – not the best time to start a new line of business, but it's grown beyond our expectations.”

UATP One is now in triple-digit growth, according to Ralph. The business line offers a comprehensive suite of payment processing solutions tailored specifically for the individual organisation, designed to reduce costs and complexity in payment processing.

“We’re continuing to add airline customers globally. What’s unique about [UATP One] is that it’s got some automated smart technology so we can move data in a way that no one else does,” he adds. “It's being well-adopted in the market.”

When it comes to the travel industry specifically, UATP is eager to differentiate itself by adding value to the services its travel partners offer. UATP is eager to keep costs low and focus on its customers, modifying its technology business to meet the needs of its customers based on their requirements.

“What we try to do is provide fantastic service and quality and value to our customers,” Ralph says. “Other card networks have to maximise their bottom line to have a return for their shareholders. We’re not in the same boat – we sit in a very unique place within the travel vertical itself.

“UATP as a payment network in travel has unique characteristics that no one else has. We're a global closed-loop network which is generally accepted by all carriers. We are literally in every market where an airline ticket can be purchased.” 

Simplifying travel experiences

Traveller behaviour has evolved in recent years, with travellers now wanting more customised solutions. Ralph also explains that customers are wanting high-touch travel experiences that are available via a mobile device.

Working with plenty of the main alternative payment brands, UATP is adapting to these changes by making travel experiences more seamless with ease of payment.

“Payment should be transparent in a way that it shouldn’t create any friction for a traveller,” Ralph notes. “Most of the time when you’re travelling, the payment process has concluded, except if you’re checking into a hotel. But if you have to rebook or something, you shouldn’t be frustrated by the payment experience.”

For corporate travel, he adds: “The end user, the corporate traveller, shouldn't really be thinking about payment. For example, UATP is a form of payment in the Uber app. We use UATP when we travel for business with Uber, which I love because now I don't have to file an expense report – it directly bills my company. 

“That's one of the unique things about UATP. Anything that’s booked with UATP is a direct bill, which is better for the traveller.”

As some of UATP customers are travel providers and retailers, the company is working to innovate in this area to make these processes more efficient. For instance, its DataMine platform is a corporate transaction portal for travel managers to look at their employee travel patterns and make intelligent decisions about how money is spent. 

“That innovation makes it easier for the travel providers to do their job in payment without having friction,” Ralph highlights. “Taking time-consuming tasks, like filling out expense reports, away from travellers is great.”

When it comes to building a payment strategy, Ralph suggests that organisations selling travel will benefit from assessing the market and channel they are operating in and adapt their strategies accordingly. 

“Some channels are different and some forms of payment are more readily accepted elsewhere,” he says. “We do that analysis for our customers and recommend to them what are the best payment types to have available to travellers, depending on the channel and market.

“Big airlines should have a payment strategy for the UK that's very different from its payment strategy in Asia-Pacific or North America.”
Likewise, Ralph is eager to make it known that the lowest cost platform is not always the best.

He notes: “We see a lot of new entrants with really great marketing campaigns that don't deliver on the technology side like you would expect, given their pronouncements. 

“I would tell people to be cautious about handing over your payment strategy to a new entrant or someone who claims they understand travel payment because they've done online payments or e-commerce. It is not the same.”

Navigating growth opportunities

As digital transformation continues to impact financial services, UATP is experiencing very large growth as it continues to implement plenty of new customers. 

“All our lines of business are growing in double digits, profitability is 30-40%, so we are expecting prosperity,” Ralph says. “We just went through a pandemic and hopefully we've learned some lessons from that, but there are events like that which we can’t control that we just have to manage in our business.”

UATP believes that its most significant growth opportunity currently is making the most of its geographic markets. As Ralph explains, the organisation wants to open up a market in India and the continent of Africa similar to its business in the People’s Republic of China.

“We opened up China for UATP almost 17 years ago and have now built out the infrastructure there, having recruited partners,” he says. “We have airlines that issue UATP accounts and almost every airline in China accepts UATP as a form of payment. Now, we want to do the same thing with India. Likewise, the continent of Africa is underserved in our opinion and we have made very good progress. 

“We also want to get into new non-travel B2B verticals, like big-box retailers and anyone that could benefit from a low cost closed-loop payment network. We're moving forward and I anticipate some announcements next year.”

The company is also seeking to capitalise on trends like AI to drive its business even further forward. However, Ralph is quick to note that he does not want to sacrifice the human element of UATP’s offerings.

“We are seeing more automation, and that includes the use of AI, in the sector. I think the way to win there is to be able to provide those services, but still maintain high quality services,” he says. “If you take out the human element, you better be sure that everything is covered so that people don't get frustrated with your product or the interaction.

“There needs to be a layer of human touch that can be guided by AI. If you just throw everything to AI, you could wind up with some unhappy customers.”

As a whole, UATP is committed to enhancing its entire portfolio to accelerate its growth, in addition to optimising services for customers to remove friction.

“We solve payment related problems for customers and meet their payment needs from a strategic and technology standpoint,” Ralph says. “When a customer says, ‘Hey, can you do this?’ We go back and build it. The thing that makes us unique is that we won't lie to them. If we can't do it, we'll tell them. Or if we don't see the total value for that customer, we might find a different way to do it. 

“We're always looking at ways to make the experience better for the customer, the traveller, and then enhancing our platform.”

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