Kenya Airways has introduced an Optional Payment Charge (OPC) which will be applicable to all tickets purchased using a credit card. However, according to the South African Payments Association (PASA) credit card surcharging in South Africa is prohibited, which industry experts say casts doubt on whether the charge can be legally introduced in South Africa.
“The OPC will be applicable to tickets purchased using a Credit Card on all routes and booking classes. The charge is optional since Kenya Airways provides alternative forms of payment where this charge will not be applied. The amount to be charged is 2% of the ticket price with a ceiling of USD20 (R334). The OPC will be indicated in the grand total of the ticket price. The surcharge will be applied on Visa, Mastercard and American Express credit card types for Kenya Airways online sales, ticketing offices, General Sales Agents (GSAs) and BSP agents. The charge is exempt for consumer credit cards issued in the European Economic Union,” said the airline in a recent statement distributed in South Africa last week.
“Activation will start with the Kenya Market on August 25. The rest of the markets will be activated soon after. Communication will be sent before the activation,” added the airline indicating that the charge has not been formally introduced in South Africa just yet.
Owner of Fares Fare Travel Management, Tony King, told Travel News that he had seen low cost carriers in Europe implementing similar credit card surcharge fees but that he was not aware of any other carrier operating in the South African market that charged these fees. He added that he understood that merchants were not permitted to charge clients additional fees based on their choice of payment method.
Just Saying’s Robyn Christie told Travel News that merchant agreements specifically prohibited businesses from passing credit card charges on to their clients.
PASA’s website states the following:
“A merchant may not “penalise” you for using a credit card for a purchase transaction. This practice is generally known as surcharging and is not acceptable. The amount charged should match the displayed or advertised price. The merchant may, however, offer a discount off the displayed price for paying in Cash (for example).”
Melissa Philips, owner of Sure Map Travel also pointed out that the OPC would add additional and time-consuming steps to a consultant’s quoting workflow, as the consultant would now be required to provisionally book and price each KQ fare separately depending on payment method used.
Travel News reached out to Kenya Airways for more information on the OPC and its implementation in South Africa but had not heard back from the airline at time of publication.
