Reminder: Settlement Schedule Changes Now In Effect

As the global travel community adapts to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ARC recognizes the enormous pressures facing our industry and customers. This is an unprecedented time and is transforming our marketplace.

This is a reminder that ARC’s draft and disbursement day has changed from Friday, five days after the sales week closes, to the following Wednesday, 10 days after the sales week closes. This change went into effect for PED 03/29/20 and will repeat weekly until further notice. A visual representation of the changes outlined above can be found here, and a list of FAQs about this process is available here.

Other Important Information for Travel Agencies

  • Airline Refund Information: Some airlines have informed ARC that they are inhibiting refunds in the GDSs. Additionally, some airlines that were previously managing refunds directly have now reinstated refunds in the GDSs. As ARC receives this information from airlines, it will update its Airline Refund Information page as a resource for agencies. This list includes applicable contact information where available.
  • Weekly Sales Reports: Effective immediately, ARC is unable to extend the sales report deadline for any travel agency. Because our industry is undergoing so much volatility, ARC seeks to keep as many aspects of settlement as consistent as possible. To ensure accuracy and minimal agency re-work, ARC recommends that agencies review their sales reports on Tuesday prior to finalizing, and that agencies also refrain from submitting their sales reports early.
  • Managing Chargebacks: ARC has added two sets of FAQs to the Airline Refund Information page on its website: One on managing chargebacks, and one on managing ARC Pay disputes.
  • IAR Error Messages: ARC has added a new error message within IAR that reads, "ERROR – DO NOT VOID – Transaction temporarily restricted by carrier – visit www2.arccorp.com/refunds for more info." If your agency sees this error associated with any transactions, ARC asks that the agency not attempt to void these transactions. When these errors do occur, they will roll over to the next PED, or ARC’s Customer Care Center will contact impacted agencies if additional steps are required.

ARC will continue to provide updates to the travel agency community as relevant changes occur. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to ARC’s Customer Care Center at ccchelp@arccorp.com or 703-816-8003.

ARC Supports Extended Ticket Validity Options for Airlines

ARC has implemented an enhancement that allows airlines the option of extending the period of time available for agents to process exchanges and refunds settled through ARC beyond the current standard of 13 months from ticketing date of issue. The options now available, in addition to 13 months, are 18, 24, 30 or 39 months from the ticketing date of issue. When an airline chooses to enable one of these options, the selected extended ticket validity becomes effective in IAR for all ARC-accredited agencies.

Note that, while an airline may allow exchange and refund transactions to be processed for up to 39 months through ARC, agents should review and comply with the ticket validity rules that apply to each ticket.

ARC enabled this change to provide the global travel community with greater flexibility as the industry contends with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Airlines interested in extending the period of time available for agents to reissue/refund ticket can enable that change for the time period that best fits their current ticketing policies. An airline can move back to the standard ARC ticket validity period at their discretion.

The following airlines have opted to extend the ticket validity period:

  • Air Canada (AC/014): 24 months
  • American Airlines (AA/001): 24 months
  • Intercaribbean Airways (JY/653): 30 months
  • Virgin Australia (VA/795): 24 months


Please note that this enhancement only applies to ARC settlement processes. The global distribution systems (GDSs) may have limitations that impact the period of time that tickets are available for refund/reissue. This change is entirely voluntary and at each airline’s discretion. Airlines that choose to exercise this option will communicate their policy to agencies and to GDSs. Individual airline policies can be accessed via ARC’s Participating Airlines webpage.

Final Deletion of Air Italy

Air Italy (IG/191) is moving forward with final deletion from ARC effective Monday, April 20, 2020 (PED 04/26/2020). Please submit outstanding IG/191 refunds in your IAR report prior to the deletion date.

For more information, please see Air Italy’s website.

2020 Quarterly Transaction Fees – First Quarter

This is a reminder about the agent/CTD transaction fee that is assessed on a quarterly basis. See the chart below outlining this tiered fee structure. Please note that agencies with fewer than 1,000 transactions per quarter will not be assessed transaction fees. A separate debit representing this fee will be drawn against your ARC designated bank account on or after April 23, 2020. Only one draft will be issued for consolidated drafting agents.

Number of Transactions per Quarter

Price per Transaction

Tier 1

1,000 – 2,224,999

0.012

Tier 2

2,225 M – 5.999 M

0.011

Tier 3

6 M or more

0.010

Tip of the Week: How can agencies reduce chargebacks in this rapidly changing environment?

The best thing an agent can do is proactively support their customers and work with them to find a satisfactory solution before they initiate a chargeback. This is easier said than done, given the volume of customers that have been impacted, but this customer outreach is likely to reduce chargebacks.

In recent weeks, ARC has been working closely with agents, airlines and payment card companies to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the industry related to dispute and chargeback management.

The industry is seeing a significant increase in service- and refund-related disputes compared to the typical fraud-related chargebacks. These “Terms and Conditions” related disputes need to be handled differently than typical fraud disputes, so ARC is providing some FAQs, available by clicking here. These will be updated as the situation continues to evolve.

Have additional questions about how to manage chargebacks? Contact the ARC team at creditcardservices@arccorp.com.