What will happen if the airline isn’t able to deliver the flights as promised?

The answer is not good. If the cardholder did not receive the flight as promised, the processor has to return the money to every cardholder that is affected. This happens as soon as the disputes are created, not when they are decided. The processor will have the contractual right to go after the airline to recoup the costs, but if the airline is going out of business the processor is going to be one of many in line waiting to get paid by the airline. It’s quite possible the processor may not be able to recoup all the funds. For that matter, large airlines can process billions of dollars per year in flight Payment Gateway. Billions. The amount of money that a processor could potentially be liable for is tremendous. That is why payment processors only want to board well managed, stable airlines with strong financials. This creates an especially tough challenge for startup and young airlines to overcome because they don’t have a track record to stand on.

What I do in my role is work with my clients to understand their business, and build a strong argument to explain why many of the underwriters concerns may not be legitimate in the case of my client. We will strategize in terms of ways to develop a funding schedule so that if there is a reserve, the money will be released back to the airline as quickly as possible after the flights occur. If we highlight the strengths of the business we can offset the perceived risks. Done correctly, we’ll have a much higher chance at better terms of approval (and yes, better rates as well).