PAYMENTS
Airline payments are the result of cross-border complexity meeting the relentless demand for friction-free travel. As the industry pivots toward a more integrated, digital-first future, the need for a 360-degree perspective for industry leaders has never been more acute.
An expert in airline payments, Thomas Helldorff, VP for Airlines and Travel at Worldpay( now Global Payments) holds experience which spans the evolution of modern fintech – from the early days of smart card innovation in 1999 to the sophisticated global hubs of today – expands on how the airlines industry is fuelling up for a change in payments.
Having navigated the intricacies of the payment flow from nearly every possible angle – merchant, issuer, scheme and gateway – he now spearheads the travel and hospitality strategy for Worldpay, now part of Global Payments.
Thomas explains how advances in agentic commerce and alternative payment methods are forming the foundations for the next generation of innovation in airline payments.
Q. WHAT ROLE DOES WORLDPAY HAVE IN AIRLINE PAYMENTS?
» Worldpay, now Global Payments, is the leading payment provider, serving more than 140 airlines around the world. We constantly evolve our proposition and drive the development of seamless payment acceptance solutions for all customer touch points: web, mobile, as well as at the airport and on board.
We act as a key industry voice and lobby on behalf of the industry – and its airline customers – with regulators, card schemes, partners and industry bodies.
HOW HAS THE INDUSTRY EVOLVED OVER YOUR CAREER AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE KEY TRENDS DRIVING CHANGE?
» Remember the film Catch Me If You Can? It exposed the very early opportunity of cheque payment fraud and highlighted the need for robust, ever-evolving payment security to stay ahead of increasingly inventive fraudsters. When I started in this industry, transmitting card numbers in clear text over an unencrypted messaging infrastructure was completely fine.
140 +
airlines are in Thomas’ portfolio
US $ 3. 7tn
how much Global Payments processes in payment volume annually
80 April 2026