15 April 2008
April 2, 2008, Almaty – Kazkommertsbank and Air
Astana signed an agreement, under which the processing center of
Kazkommertsbank will handle all Internet payments in Kazakh tenge for
flights of the national carrier.
Air Astana customers have the opportunity to make flight bookings as
well as credit card payments from the comfort of their own home or
office, at any time of day and night. To do this, one needs to apply
through the Internet Booking Engine on Air Astana website
(www.airastana.com), choose a flight and pay for the ticket by credit
card. After confirmation, an electronic ticket is issued for eligible
flights or alternatively a standard ticket may be issued in a travel
agency.
Kazkommertsbank has been chosen as a Processing Center and a Clearing
Bank for cashless payments for Air Astana flights online through the
International Amadeus Airline Reservation System. Kazkommertsbank is the
only Kazakh commercial bank capable of receiving and processing online
transactions made by payment cards of any issuing bank via its
authorization ePay server (epay.kkb.kz).
Kazkommertsbank is also the only Kazakh bank that ensures security of
online payments through its use of the most advanced technology used by
Visa and MasterCard in virtual environment - the 3-D Secure (Verified by
Visa) and the similar MasterCard SecureCode system. All confidential
information (last name, given name, card number, expiry date etc.) is to
be entered by the buyer not on the website of the service supplier, but
directly at the ePay server. Additional data security is provided by
the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol.
This online service for Air Astana is part of the range of cashless
payment services provided by Kazkommertsbank as part of its objective of
meeting the international standards of Visa and MasterCard and of the
American Express premium card product payment system, whose credit
cards, GOLD and Platinum, have been exclusively issued in Kazakhstan by
Kazkommertsbank since September 2007. Kazkommertsbank has licenses from
these payment systems for all types of processing operations, so card
payments can be made through its ePay center. Payment may also be made
by debit (electronic) cards issued by Kazkommertsbank and by any other
bank.
Note: the Internet Booking Engine enables booking and purchase of air
tickets through the website of the company, with payment by bank card. A
user of the site will soon be able to select their own seats from
graphical seat maps. In addition to booking flights, the website offers a
selection of over 21,000 hotels worldwide, at guaranteed lowest prices
as well as the ability to book hire cars. The Internet Booking Engine
also enables one to select meal preferences on the flight.
This system significantly saves the customer’s trip planning time. The
customer may be sure that the ticket or reservation is wholly secure
both as a booking and as a payment.
The world class website contains a wide array of up-to-date information
about the airline, its products, promotions, dynamic flight schedules,
as well as travel information about the cities that Air Astana flies to.
It features places to visit in Kazakhstan, visa information plus lots
more.
PLEASE NOTE, THAT PAYMENTS CAN BE MADE USING VISA OR MASTERCARD ISSUED
BY ANY BANK (NOT JUST KAZKOMMERTSBANK ISSUED CREDIT CARDS).
IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO MAKE PAYMENTS USING YOUR KAZKOMMERTSBANK ISSUED MAESTRO AND CIRRUS CARDS.
Air Astana Company
Air Astana is a joint venture of the Republic of Kazakhstan and BAE Systems (www.baesystems.com)
with the shares of participation being 51% and 49% respectively. Air
Astana was registered in 2001, and flights began in May, 2002. Since
that time on, the Company has increased the number of the aircrafts from
3 to 18, provided more than 2000 job places, and extended the network
of flights, which currently includes 25 domestic and 21 international
flights. The air company is a full member of the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) and the only air company in Kazakhstan,
certified by European Air Safety Agency (EASA) as a company entitled to
provide technical maintenance to airliners in compliance with JAR-145
requirements.
Kazkommertsbank JSC
Kazkommertsbank was founded in 1990. At present, it
is the largest private financial institution of Kazakhstan in terms of
assets, loan portfolio, net profits and general deposits. The Bank
issues credit and debit cards of Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc., American
Express Ltd payment systems. As of February 1, 2008, more than 913 000
cards issued by the Bank were in circulation. As of February 1, 2008,
ATM network of Kazkommertsbank comprised 780 facilities. Besides, the
processing center of the Bank has served 229 Internet-kiosks and 6800
POS-terminals installed at trade and service enterprises. The Bank is
leading in Kazakhstan in terms of provision of internet-banking services
by Homebank.kz (for individuals) and Onlinebank.kz (for legal entities)
portals.