Agents in particular will be hit by the Payment Services Directive II (PSD2), an EU regulation that will come into force on January 13.
It will outlaw card surcharges – something that may well affect travel more than other industries because profit margins are generally low.
Experts are currently examining how travel businesses can avoid losing around 2% off their bottom lines.
Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, highlighted at the organisation’s AGM this month that while operators would be able to include any increase within a package price, agents would have to explain why there is an additional service charge.
“You can assume that everybody’s holiday price will go up by 2% on January 13,” said Bowen.
“The travel industry does not make a lot of profit, so that is why we charge for using cards.”
He warned the industry must take changes into account when budgeting: “Make sure you are making money on what you are selling, not relying on the 2% charge for credit cards.”
The industry is awaiting firm advice from the UK government about the changes, but this has been hampered by the general election.
Michelle Stapleton, new business manager at Barclaycard, told the meeting: “Some have asked, ‘can we do a booking fee that’s different from a credit card fee?’
“Our legal team said that would be OK in principle as long as you are not just changing the wording.
“There is still a legal risk in that approach, but there is nothing in the directive to say you can’t do it.”
However, she warned: “You would still need to seek legal advice, it has to be fair and reasonable.”
Any fee would also have to be applied to payments made in cash, the meeting was told. Agents and operators must also decide whether to separate the fee on invoices.
Bowen added: “It [PSD2] is EU law, but it’s up to the UK government to decide what you can or can’t do. We don’t know what they [the UK government] will do yet.”
