IATA reports $24.5 billion in global airline payment costs for 2025

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revealed that global airline payment processing costs reached $24.5 billion in 2025. This figure represents a 10.4% increase compared to 2023, a growth rate that significantly outpaces the 7.7% increase in total travel sales during the same period.

On average, airlines incurred a cost of $5 per passenger. This expense is particularly notable when compared to IATA’s projected net profit of $4.50 per passenger for 2026. The majority of these expenditures, approximately $20.7 billion (84.5%), were driven by direct transaction fees. Other costs included $2.9 billion for internal operations, systems, and compliance, while $900 million was attributed to fraud and uncollected sales.

Credit and debit cards remain high-friction payment methods, averaging a 2.53% fee, whereas some alternative methods cost as little as 0.01%. To mitigate these rising costs, IATA is promoting digital wallets and instant payment frameworks, such as IATA Pay, to improve industry-wide efficiency.