SAS and ARC enable multi-payment bookings

Scandinavian Airlines has turned on a new payment option through Airlines Reporting Corporation that lets a single SAS booking be paid with more than one method at once. ARC said on May 14 that SAS activated Multiple Forms of Payment, or MFOP, for GDS EDIFACT transactions processed through ARC’s settlement platform. The feature allows agencies and customers to combine payment types in one transaction rather than forcing a booking onto one card or one form of tender. ARC said the support extends beyond the initial sale to exchanges and refunds as well. ### What exactly changed in an SAS booking? ARC’s May 14 release said SAS can now accept more than one form of payment in a single transaction. In practice, that means an agency handling an SAS ticket through global distribution channels can split payment across different tenders, including combinations such as a card plus cash, according to ARC and Business Travel News. ARC described the rollout as part of bookings processed through its settlement platform, not a general statement about every SAS sales channel. (www2.arccorp.com) SAS appears to be the first airline to activate the feature through ARC. Business Travel News reported that ARC called SAS the first carrier to switch it on, and ARC’s own release names SAS as the airline activating the capability. ### Which bookings does this cover? ARC said the feature applies to GDS EDIFACT transactions processed through ARC’s settlement platform. (www2.arccorp.com) That wording matters because it points to agency and distribution-system workflows rather than a blanket change to every direct SAS booking path. ARC’s archived agency communication repeated the same scope, saying SAS now supports MFOP for agencies processing Global Distribution System EDIFACT transactions. (businesstravelnews.com) SAS’s public consumer pages still describe general payment and booking-management functions, but the ARC announcement is the clearest source on where the new split-payment capability sits operationally. The company’s consumer site does not, in the material surfaced here, separately announce a broad direct-booking rollout tied to the ARC feature. That is an inference from the available public pages and ARC’s narrower wording. (www2.arccorp.com) ### How many payment methods can be combined? ARC’s MFOP quick-reference guide says the platform can accept and process a maximum of three unique forms of payment for sales and add-collect exchanges. The same guide says ARC can process up to 10 unique forms of payment for refunds, exchanges with refunds and even exchanges. ARC’s airline and agency FAQ pages describe the program more broadly as an effort to allow more than one form of payment for sales, refunds and exchanges. (flysas.com) ARC also says the project is intended to streamline payment processing, reduce manual refund work, lower transaction fees and reduce refund-related debit memos. Those are ARC’s stated objectives in its FAQ materials. ### Who is this aimed at? ARC said the new option expands flexibility for travel agencies and customers. Business Travel News described use cases in which agencies and customers booking SAS through global distribution channels could combine a credit card and debit card or cash in one transaction. (www2.arccorp.com) Travel And Tour World similarly framed the feature as aimed at agencies and travelers seeking more flexible split-payment options on a single booking. (www2.arccorp.com) The immediate audience is likely agency sellers working inside ARC-settled workflows. ARC’s materials repeatedly place the feature inside its settlement and GDS transaction framework, and its support pages include separate FAQ documents for airlines and agencies. ### Where do the operational details sit now? (www2.arccorp.com) ARC’s support pages now carry the operating rules for Multiple Forms of Payment. The airline FAQ, agency FAQ and quick-reference guide set out the transaction types covered and the limits on unique forms of payment. ARC’s archived agency communication also says SAS now supports MFOP through ARC, giving agencies a dated implementation notice tied to the May 2026 rollout. (www2.arccorp.com) For the next step, agencies booking SAS through ARC-settled GDS EDIFACT transactions would look to ARC’s MFOP FAQ pages and quick-reference guide for implementation details, while SAS remains the named airline already live on the feature as of May 14, 2026. (www2.arccorp.com 1) (www2.arccorp.com 2)