Scoot scraps payment processing fees for tickets booked online, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
Singapore

Scoot scraps payment processing fees for tickets booked online

This article is more than 12 months old

Travellers flying on budget carrier Scoot no longer need to pay payment processing fees when they book their tickets through the airline website.

Scoot said yesterday that it was scrapping payment processing fees as payment systems have evolved to become cheaper to maintain.

The fees were previously charged to implement and support the payment infrastructure, including its security.

Customers in Singapore had to pay $10 each when booking a Scoot flight and paying through selected credit cards and PayPal.

For example, they would have paid a payment processing fee of $20 a passenger when they booked a return flight from Singapore to Narita airport in Japan, with a transit in Taiwan.

Scoot's competitor AirAsia said in July that it will be scrapping processing fees for credit cards and online banking systems. The change takes effect next month.

Scoot chief executive Lee Lik Hsin said the company started removing payment processing fees in selected markets, beginning with Europe, in March last year.

Last month, it scrapped payment processing fees of $6 for customers who paid through AXS machines here.

Mr Lee said Scoot had offered a limited range of payment methods at a higher implementation and maintenance cost when it began operations.

Technological improvements over time have helped to reduce the costs needed to support and maintain the payment infrastructure, he added.

Mr Lee said: "We hope this gives our customers better value and more reasons to (travel) with us."

Competitor Jetstar typically charges a passenger booking and service fees of $10 for each flight when payment is made with credit cards, UnionPay and AliPay, among other methods, according to its website.

Transport