Nium Partners with Air France and KLM to Streamline Payments

Nium, a US-based cross-border B2B payments platform, has announced a collaboration with Air France and Dutch airline KLM to facilitate “closed loop” electronic payments with selected travel agents. This partnership will see the two airlines utilise Nium’s Airline Payments (NAP) solution as an alternative to traditional travel agent card transactions.

The NAP solution leverages a private network of trusted Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP) authorisation rails and bank transfers, aiming to simplify reconciliations, expedite settlements, and reduce costs. Initially, the NAP will be implemented in Air France and KLM’s travel agent systems across Europe, starting in Italy, with plans to expand to additional markets.

According to Nium, the NAP solution “eliminates intermediaries from the payment flow,” providing airlines with the flexibility to introduce a new payment option for selected travel agent partners. John Taylor, head of airline payments at Nium, emphasised that payments are evolving from a “necessary cost of doing business” to a “determining factor in distribution discussions,” thereby enhancing control and collaboration within the indirect sales channel.

This announcement follows Nium’s recent $50 million Series E funding round, amid reports suggesting that the company is gearing up for a potential IPO in 2025.