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Airline mobile payments increase 25%

The acceptance of mobile payment by airlines has increased dramatically in recent years, with a new white paper for WorldPay indicating the payment method is now accepted by 25 per cent of carriers.

This figure is a dramatic increase on the ten per cent that accepted mobile payments in 2012.

The white paper, which questioned 56 global airlines, revealed that 57 per cent believe mobile payments have the greatest potential to drive revenue in the next two years.

Chris Chandler, vice president of financial services at Emirates Airlines said: "We currently accept payment through mobile devices through the mobile version of the website, and plan to accept all payment types on all devices in the future."

Mike Parkinson, vice president of Airlines at WorldPay, said the industry has recognised the revenue opportunities available through mobile.

He explained that the next two years will see significant developments within the mobile payments sphere, with new innovations set to change the way consumer buy tickets.

"In the future, services offered via a mobile device will become inherent to the airline experience from booking to check-in," he concluded.

By Asim Shah