Throughout its history, the travel agency community has repeatedly demonstrated resilience and adaptability to changing business climates. 1995 was one such transitional period. That year, ARC launched its Travel Agency Service Fee (TASF) product to help agencies generate new revenue streams during a period of shifting market dynamics.

Now, in 2019, the air travel industry is once again fundamentally changing and ARC remains as committed as ever to transforming its own infrastructure, products and solutions to help agencies continue to grow and thrive.

Announcing ARC Pay

ARC is investing in the expansion of travel agency payment processing. To that end, we’re taking this opportunity to:

  • Rebrand TASF and Agent’s Choice under a single platform: ARC Pay.
    • GDS-based TASF payment processing is now ARC Pay GDS. Even with a new name, all current processes remain the same. Agencies will continue to use ARC Pay within the GDS utilizing the “890” code, exactly the same as TASF.
    • Agent’s Choice is now the ARC Pay Hub. ARC plans to enhance the ARC Pay Hub over time. Those enhancements will begin with improvements to the user interface in the coming months. Agencies will continue to access the ARC Pay Hub via My ARC, just as they do today with Agent’s Choice.
    • Introducing the ARC Pay API: Available to travel agencies and third-party systems integrators, the ARC Pay API will help streamline card acceptance and better serve customers seeking to automate their businesses. ARC aims to increase responsiveness to custom organizational requirements.
    • Remind agencies that ARC’s payment platform is for more than just service fees: agencies can use ARC Pay to accept credit card payments for any travel-related purchase up to $10,000, making it a valuable tool for travel packages and group purchases.
    • Expand acceptance to third-party integrators and direct agencies.

What to Expect

Over the coming months, you’ll begin to see the new ARC Pay branding. What won’t change is that wherever and whenever travel agencies need to accept a payment, ARC has a solution.

Most importantly, for ARC-accredited agencies, the full breadth of services provided by ARC Pay are already available today as part of the extensive value of ARC Accreditation.

What travel agencies can expect from ARC Pay:

  • All major credit card brands accepted, including UATP
  • No need to manage multiple merchant agreements
  • Easy integration with mid- and back-office systems
  • Familiar and universal GDS-agnostic operation
  • Fully transparent pricing with minimal fees
  • Integration with other ARC processes: ARC Pay transactions flow through your agency’s ARC report, so you know you’ll receive payment every Friday on the weekly ARC settlement schedule. Furthermore, when you accept cash as payment for airline ticket transactions, the funds you’d otherwise owe to ARC on that cash sale are netted nightly against the funds ARC owes you on your ARC Pay sales, resulting in next-day payments.
  • A platform built for the travel agency community by a trusted, industry-owned partner

ARC remains committed to designing and building valuable, flexible platforms that accelerate growth for travel agencies and create a more connected, thriving industry.

For more information about the entire ARC Pay platform, visit the ARC Pay page or contact ARC’s Customer Care Center at 703-816-8003 or ccchelp@arccorp.com.