Telecom
SeerBit X Sabre: Addressing Payment Challenges in the Airline Industry
Airlines around the world strive to ensure a seamless and convenient travel experience for millions of passengers. However, behind the scenes, these businesses grapple with issues, such as complex payment processes which impact revenue, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
The pressure to meet the ever-rising expectations of customers, as well as other issues, such as high transaction fees, threat of fraud, multi-currency complexities and reconciliation challenges all add up to form giant pain points that airlines have to constantly battle with. These pain points have a detrimental effect on the growth projections for the aviation industry in Africa.
A recent report suggests that the continent’s flights market is expected to generate $14.50 billion in revenue by 2029, with the number of users expected to hit 108.60 million. However, prevailing payment obstacles, aligned with infrastructure deficiencies, high costs and taxation require innovative solutions to transform them into growth opportunities for the aviation industry.
The Complex Payment Landscape for Airlines
As airlines continue to expand globally, payment challenges become increasingly multifaceted, impacting profitability and operational efficiency. These challenges cut across payment-related, operational and regulatory issues.
1. High Transaction Costs
Airlines face a daunting task of managing costs because of the additional substantial expense that high transaction fees and multi-currency handling add. According to a report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), processing fees alone can cost airlines billions annually, cutting directly into profits. Fluctuating currency values and international transaction fees make up a significant part of the costs incurred by global airlines and which impact their bottom line.
2. Revenue Leakage and Payment Fraud
Payment fraud has become a serious risk for airlines worldwide, especially with the rise of digital payments. According to IATA, the aviation industry loses up to 1.2% of its annual revenue to fraud. Fraudulent transactions and other associated risks threaten airline revenue streams, making it essential to have a secure payment infrastructure. For example, without adequate safeguards, airlines can lose significant amounts to credit card fraud, chargebacks, and unauthorised transactions, leading to revenue leakage.
3. Reconciliation Headaches
For global airlines, payment reconciliation across various sales channels, regions and currencies is both error-prone and time-consuming. Every day, airlines process thousands of transactions from sources including online bookings, travel agents and in-flight sales. The large scale volume of these transactions makes it difficult to align the records accurately, leading to discrepancies that impact financial reporting and decision-making.
4. Customer Experience Expectations
Travellers in today’s world expect fast, seamless payment experiences that fit their on-the-move lifestyles. Long queues, payment processing delays or currency incompatibility can sour the customer journey, leading to customer dissatisfaction and decreased loyalty. According to a recent report, over 70% of passengers say they are unlikely to return to an airline if they encounter a negative payment experience.
5. Regulatory Compliance Across Multiple Jurisdictions
Operating globally means airlines must navigate complex and varying regulatory landscapes. Each country enforces its own rules regarding data protection, taxation and financial reporting, creating significant operational challenges. Failure to meet these regulations can lead to hefty fines, operational delays and reputational damage. Managing compliance in every market requires time and resources that detract from an airline’s primary focus on delivering excellent service.
SeerBit & Sabre Partnership: A Strategic Solution for Airlines
Through a recent partnership with Sabre, SeerBit is helping airlines navigate the complexities of the payment ecosystem by addressing key pain points and enhancing operational efficiency.
Here’s how SeerBit and Sabre’s unified solution addresses business pain points and challenges for airlines:
1. Streamlined Payment Processes
With SeerBit, airlines using Sabre can now enjoy a streamlined payment process that optimises the end-to-end transaction cycle, from booking to post-flight purchases. This integration provides real-time payment processing, which reduces the need for manual intervention, and offers airlines an efficient, cost-effective approach to managing global transactions.
2. Multi-Currency and Global Reach Capabilities
SeerBit offers payment solutions that empower airlines on Sabre to receive and manage payments across different regions and multiple currencies seamlessly. SeerBit’s robust support for international currencies and compliance with local regulations ensures that airlines can operate confidently in new markets, meeting regional compliance, while offering a seamless experience to travellers worldwide.
Irrespective of where an airline operates, SeerBit’s multi-currency solutions ensure reduced fees, prevent currency volatility losses and ensure compliance across borders.
3. Advanced Security and Fraud Detection
The strategic partnership between SeerBit and Sabre prioritises security, with fraud detection and prevention features tailored to the unique needs of airlines. Advanced data encryption features safeguard payment channels, drastically reducing the risk of fraud. Airlines can rely on SeerBit to provide a trusted environment for their customers, minimising exposure to fraud and enhancing overall customer trust.
4. Data-Driven Insights and Reporting
Data is invaluable for airlines aiming to optimise their operations. Through SeerBit’s integration with Sabre, airlines can enjoy access to real-time insights that support financial reconciliation and accurate reporting. This solution provides a consolidated view of airline payments, allowing finance teams to make data-backed decisions and identify opportunities to reduce costs or improve efficiency. Further, airlines are in a position to understand customer payment behaviours better, enabling them to tailor their offerings. By analysing payment data, airlines can refine services based on passenger preferences, such as prioritising mobile payment options for younger customers who value speed and simplicity
Key Benefits of SeerBit & Sabre Integration for Airlines
By addressing core payment pain points in the aviation industry, SeerBit and Sabre help airlines achieve operational efficiency, cost savings and enhanced customer loyalty.
1. Increased Revenue and Lowered Costs
By reducing multi-currency fees and eliminating revenue leakage, airlines can experience improved profitability. SeerBit’s solutions help streamline transaction costs, optimise revenue and offer airlines a competitive edge in their pricing strategies.
2. Enhanced Customer Experience
Customers who enjoy seamless and secure payment options are more likely to develop loyalty to an airline. Sabre’s emphasis on great customer experience aligns with SeerBit’s mission to simplify payment interactions, allowing airlines to offer a payment journey that matches their travel excellence goals. With faster, flexible payment options, airlines can boost customer satisfaction and retention rates.
According to IATA’s Global Passenger Survey, around 38% of passengers are dissatisfied with limited payment flexibility, impacting their willingness to book services. Airlines that expanded their payment options to include localised methods, e.g., mobile payments, reported higher customer satisfaction and retention by catering to diverse payment preferences across age groups and regions.
3. Optimised Operational Efficiency
Automation of payment processes and reconciliation reduces manual errors and enhances operational efficiency. SeerBit’s robust reconciliation tools help airlines consolidate transactions from various channels, simplifying financial management and boosting operational productivity.
4. Scalability and Future-Readiness
SeerBit and Sabre’s partnership provides airlines with scalable solutions designed to meet future industry demands. As travel returns to a high post-pandemic, airlines can rely on flexible solutions offered by this strategic partnership to adapt to changing market trends and customer needs, ensuring long-term success.
A Future of Seamless, Secure Airline Payments
Africa is emerging as the next major frontier for air travel. A recent study on emerging markets projects that by 2030, the African aviation industry will experience robust growth, with a compound annual growth rate of 5% to 6% in passenger traffic. This expansion is fueled by urbanisation, a growing middle class and enhanced connectivity. Alongside this growth, African airlines are expected to double their fleet size, contributing over $100 billion to the continent’s GDP and supporting more than 6 million jobs.
To meet these ambitious targets and navigate a complex global market, airlines need payment solutions that are secure, cost-effective, and aligned with evolving customer expectations. SeerBit’s partnership with Sabre Corporation delivers a powerful, integrated payment platform designed to reduce transaction costs, fortify security and enhance the customer experience.
This landmark collaboration empowers decision-makers and stakeholders in African aviation to modernise payment operations, boost efficiency, and unlock new revenue streams. Through this key integration, businesses across the aviation value chain are well-positioned to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape and set new benchmarks for operational excellence.
Learn more on how to unlock the key benefits of the SeerBit X Sabre partnership for airlines here.
Telecom
IHS Nigeria Hosts Telecom Industry Stakeholders to Discuss Protection of Critical National Infrastructure in Lagos State
IHS Nigeria, part of the IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) (“IHS Towers”) group, one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, recently hosted a high-level meeting of stakeholders in the telecommunications industry including regulators and law enforcement agencies, at its corporate headquarters in Lagos.
The meeting was organized to develop a multi-stakeholder action plan for the protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) assets in Lagos state.
Recognizing the importance of communications infrastructure as the backbone of national security, economic growth and social cohesion, the stakeholders at the meeting convened under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) agreed on the urgent need for collaborative solutions to ensure the protection of these vital assets.
The meeting was attended by senior representatives from the telecommunications stakeholder groups and regulatory bodies including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA).
Also in attendance were representatives from the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and InfraCos as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the security agency tasked with the protection of Critical National Infrastructure across the country.
Following extensive deliberations, the stakeholders resolved to establish a working group dedicated to addressing key industry challenges, including the vandalization and theft of telecommunications infrastructure, arbitrary shutdown of base stations, fiber cuts due to road construction and the denial of access by unauthorized individuals by leveraging technology for real-time monitoring and protection, strengthening security measures around telecommunication sites and collaborating more with the security and regulatory agencies to mitigate these challenges.
The stakeholders underscored the need to prioritize deterrence and prevention of these incidents and highlighted the importance of public awareness campaigns to sensitize the host communities and public of the need to protect telecommunications infrastructure in their localities.
Dapo Otunla, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Services Officer of IHS Nigeria, commented, “The protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) has been a critical concern for all industry stakeholders.
“We are experiencing daily losses of assets, which significantly impact on the quality of service delivered to subscribers. Addressing these issues is paramount to sustaining Nigeria’s digital ecosystem and meeting regulatory expectations.”
Over 1ooo athletes are already set to participate in the upcoming MTN Champs Continental Relays, taking place between April 9 and April 12 at the UNILAG and Yabatech Sports complexes. Organisers anticipate even more registrations before the April 2 deadline.
MTN Champs is Nigeria’s largest grassroots sports competition, a collaboration between MTN Nigeria and Making of Champs (MoC), providing a platform for young athletes to showcase their talents and potentially represent Nigeria on the global stage.
Osaze Ebueku, Senior Manager, Go-to-Market at MTN Nigeria at the opening ceremony of the MTN Champs Classics events in Benin had emphasised the long-term vision behind MTN Champs: “We’re building future Olympians for Nigeria. MTN Champs is about more than competition. It’s about changing lives.”
The continental relays mark the second leg of the MTN Champs Season 3, following the Classics competition in Benin, which saw 4,371 event entries from 2,056 athletes.
As of March 24, the Lagos leg had already recorded 2,821 event entries across different age categories, highlighting the growing enthusiasm around the competition.
The registered athletes are spread across four categories, with 174 in the Cadet (U-14) category, 388 in Youth (U-17), 270 in Junior (U-20), and 279 in the Senior category.
To ensure smooth participation, organisers have outlined important guidelines. Athletes in the Cadet, Youth, and Junior categories must submit a signed Parental Consent Form, while all registered schools and athletes must collect their competition bibs by April 8 at the competition venue to confirm their participation and secure their place on the start list.
Sports enthusiasts can look forward to an electrifying showcase of emerging talent, as young athletes seize the opportunity to prove their skills on a professional stage.
Telecom
Again, Labour Fumes, Threatens Shutdown of Telcos over Non-Implementation of 15 Percent Tariff Reduction
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is threatening to shut down operations of telecommunications companies over their refusal to comment on the 15 percent reduction in telecom tariffs.
Recall that that organised labour, through the NLC, forced the federal government and NCC to reduce the telecommunications tariff hike from 50% to 35% after threatening to shut down telecom operations and the NCC in response to what it saw as exploitative economic policies amidst excruciating suffering, hardship, and deepening poverty.
The government had previously formed a 10-member committee, consisting of five government and NLC representatives, to deliberate on the thorny topic of tariff hikes within two weeks and report back before making a final decision on the new telecom tariff structure.
Consequently, on Friday, February 21, 2025, the committee, at a meeting conducted in the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) that lasted nearly three hours, decided on a 15 per cent tariff cut.
According to reports, in accordance with the conditions of the agreement, an official communiqué announcing the tariff reduction was scheduled to be released on Saturday, February 22.
According to Chronicle,iIt was said that the meeting began at 4:00 p.m. and concluded around 7:00 p.m., during which NLC representatives insisted that the tariff hike be withdrawn.
According to sources, after significant pressure from NLC representatives in the 10-man committee, the government and NCC gave up and agreed on the 15% decrease, which the government or NCC should have announced the next day.
However, at the time of this report, no such announcement has been made.
Leaders of the labour union are not taking the government’s failure to announce or implement the 15% tariff decrease lightly, suspecting that they have been duped.
The Labour leaders have therefore resolved to directly confront the NCC and telecommunications operators next week.
Though it has been reported that the date for the start of the industrial action against the NCC and telecom providers has been set and mobilisation is underway, the information is being closely guarded.
One of the leaders of the NLC stated that “We have received directives to commence mobilisation since last week. In fact, the date for the commencement of industrial action against the NCC and telecommunication operators’ offices across the country has been fixed. We have been warned not to disclose the date because the plan is to take all concerned by surprise. We are not giving any notice because we thought we had resolved this matter over a month ago. It is as if we have been scammed. Therefore, we have decided to confront the matter head-on.”
On February 12, the NLC expressed outrage over telecommunications companies’ tariff hikes, despite an earlier agreement with the Federal Government and the NCC.
According to the Labour union, “If the telecommunications companies fail to revert to the old tariff by the end of February 2025, a total shutdown of their operations nationwide will commence on March 1, 2025.”
To demonstrate its seriousness, the NLC declared that, as a first step in resisting the arbitrary tariff hike, it directed that workers and other willing citizens boycott the services of MTN, AIRTEL, and GLO daily between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. until the end.
On Tuesday, February 11, NLC leaders issued a communiqué at the conclusion of their Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Lokoja, Kogi State, urging workers and citizens to suspend data purchases from telecommunications companies, which have also become one of their most effective tools for exploiting Nigerian citizens.
The communiqué, signed by Joe Ajaero and Emma Ugboaja, Congress’ President and General Secretary, respectively, instructed NLC State Councils and industrial union affiliates to quickly sensitise and mobilise their members and the general public in their jurisdictions.
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