Fact Sheet - IATA Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP)
- IATA’s BSP is a system designed to facilitate and simplify the selling, reporting and remitting procedures of IATA Accredited Passenger Sales Agents, as well as improve financial control and cash flow participating airline.
- A worldwide system operates in some 160 countries and territories.
- In 2008 IATA’s BSP processed US$ 240 billion
| Year |
Agents |
Sales US$ bn |
Bad debt US$ m |
Bad debt % sales |
| 2001 |
55 770 |
121 |
56 |
0.46 |
| 2002 |
58 000 |
126 |
45 |
0.35 |
| 2003 |
58 900 |
132 |
43 |
0.32 |
| 2004 |
59 500 |
158 |
55 |
0.35 |
| 2005 |
60 400 |
171 |
62 |
0.36 |
| 2006 |
60 557 |
187 |
31 |
0.17 |
| 2007 |
60 600 |
220 |
53 |
0.24 |
| 2008 |
58 636 |
240 |
85 |
0.35 |
- IATA’s financial systems processed someUS$350 billion during 2008
- IATA Clearing House—US$50 billion
- IATA Currency Clearing Service — US$30.5 billion
- Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) — US$240 billion
- Cargo Account Settlement Systems (CASS) — US$28 billion
- Other – US$1.5 billion
Agency Program
- The IATA Passenger Agency Program provides a system for the accreditation of travel agents that meet specific industry standards and financial and security criteria.
- Currently there are some 58,636 IATA Travel Agents
- operating in over 200 countries
- selling US$240 billion of airline tickets
- The Passenger Agency Program provides a standard method for agents to be recognized by both the travel industry and consumers.
Benefits - IATA Airline Members
- Access to a global distribution network of IATA Travel agents who have signed a single standard Sales Agency Agreement with IATA
- Outsourced agent verification services including legal and financial evaluation and monitoring
- Reliable credit management with a collection rate of 99.96%
- Access to IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP), and BSPlink that together provide a single standard interface for invoicing and payment between the agents and the airline
- Protects the IATA member in case of violation of the Passenger Sales Agency Agreement or fraudulent practices
IATA Travel Agents
- Access to approximately 225 IATA airline members using a single standard Sales Agency Agreement.
- Authorization to sell international and/or domestic tickets on behalf of the airlines.
- Access to IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP), and BSPlink that together provide a single standard interface for invoicing and payment between the agent and multiple airlines and transport providers.
- Global travel industry recognition through an “IATA Numeric Code” that provides a unique identifier for the agent.
- Global consumer confidence due to IATA Travel Agents meeting industry standards identifiable by the IATA logo and branding displayed on Travel Agents premises and websites
- Provides standard procedures which ensure fair and uniform standards in all dealings with the airlines
Consumers
- Confidence that IATA Travel Agents meet industry standards and set financial and security criteria
- Unbiased advice and the option to purchase tickets on a wide range of airlines
Updated July 2009