Hands In, a pioneer in split payment architecture for high-value transactions, has finalized a global strategic partnership with Outpayce from Amadeus, a prominent travel payments specialist. Under the agreement, travel merchants and airlines utilizing the Outpayce ecosystem can now offer native multi-card split payments directly at the point of sale.
The tie-up arrives on the heels of Hands In’s landmark agreement with a Tier-1 Middle Eastern airline, scheduled to go live this year with implementation support from Outpayce. The collaborative push signals a concerted effort by travel networks to capture incremental revenues and eliminate payment friction for group and premium travelers.
Rescuing the 40% decline rate
The integration aims to solve a persistent operational challenge for international airlines: soft declines at checkout. According to industry data from Ethoca (Mastercard) and internal case studies from Hands In, more than 40 per cent of airline payment declines stem from card limits or insufficient funds. High-ticket bookings—such as premium cabins or multi-passenger family itineraries—often trigger single-card capital thresholds, forcing high-intent consumers to abandon their carts.
By integrating into the Outpayce Xchange Payment Platform (XPP), the new system introduces a sequential authorization sequence:
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The traveler opts for “Pay with multiple cards” directly on the merchant’s checkout screen.
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Hands In splits the transactional total securely across two or more specified cards.
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The cardholder inputs card credentials sequentially, with independent 3D Secure (3DS) authentication triggers executed if required by the merchant.
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Once the complete order amount is successfully authorized, Hands In captures the transaction in real time.
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Tickets are generated instantly, and the fragmented payments are automatically consolidated and reconciled at the single booking level.
This process enables consumers to freely mix personal and corporate credit cards, debit cards, or separate foreign currencies to guarantee transaction success.
The mandate for “Offer and Order” flexibility
The partnership marks a foundational step as global airlines move toward modern “Offer and Order” systems. Under this modern model, a single digital order record frequently houses multiple distinct travelers, ancillary products, and separate payers. Traditional payment setups often rely on rigid manual workarounds that disrupt this architecture, adding checkout friction and creating accounting silos.
Furthermore, embedding split capabilities directly into the order lifecycle creates a clean, unified audit trail. By anchoring all separate card payments, subsequent adjustments, or potential refunds to one localized order, airlines can navigate increasing regulatory pressures to process precise multi-party refunds without manual intervention.
A frictionless deployment
For existing Outpayce customers, Hands In’s split payment suite is deployed as a pre-integrated alternative payment option within the core checkout interface, demanding no additional technical resources or core code updates from travel merchants.
“Outpayce sets the tone for how airlines design and evolve their payment strategy,” said Samuel Flynn, CEO of Hands In. “Our partnership brings critical flexibility and reliability to travel merchants worldwide, building on the decline recovery capabilities we have pioneered over recent years.”
Damian Alonso, SVP and head of product & partnerships at Outpayce from Amadeus, emphasized that payments are central to formatting frictionless travel journeys.
“Partnering with Hands In allows us to bring true flexibility to the checkout… helping merchant partners, such as airlines, reduce failed transactions and capture revenue that would otherwise be lost,” Alonso concluded.