Jazeera Airways future-proofs treasury with HSBC’s bespoke Global Payments Solutions

Jazeera Airways KSCP, the Middle East’s first privately owned airline, has expanded rapidly from its base in Kuwait since its foundation in 2004. Passenger numbers surged to 4.7 million in 2023, nearly five times higher than in 2021, when the Covid pandemic disrupted global air travel.

The budget airline, partly owned by Boodai Group, has become Kuwait’s second national airline and one of the largest operators at Kuwait International Airport (KWI), growing to serve over 60 destinations and 26 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.¹

Navigating turbulence

As Jazeera Airways’ footprint expanded to include new countries, its centrally managed treasury operations started facing inefficiencies with payments, collections, and reconciliation with different banking partners and platforms used for each country.

The manual reconciliation and credit processes were time-consuming. "We had at least three to four people working weekends and holidays, with reconciliation and credit taking each person two to three working hours per day on average," says a finance executive at Jazeera Airways.

Bespoke solutions

HSBC’s Global Payments Solutions (GPS) team has worked with Jazeera Airways across several markets since 2009. To navigate the unique set of challenges stemming from the airline’s rapid growth, they proposed a bespoke solutions package, including Corporate and Treasury Application Programming Interface (API) and Virtual Account solutions.

The solutions were successfully integrated with Navitaire, Jazeera’s reservation system, and the existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The bank also introduced HSBC Connect for payables management, and MT940 end-of-day reporting.

Expanding API integration

The integration of HSBC’s API with Jazeera Airways’ booking management system in Kuwait, the UAE, and India in 2022 significantly reduced resource hours and improved data accuracy.

The APIs allowed real-time access to bank statements across accounts, allowing the sales team to issue tickets independently without relying on the finance department.

This integration improved relationships with business partners, enhanced internal collaboration, and eliminated bottlenecks.

By raising API calls directly from the ERP, the airline reduced the number of platforms and logins required, cutting down on errors and manual efforts, and leading to a much-improved customer experience.

As a result, API call volumes nearly doubled to 342,000 last year from 176,000 in 2022 with a target of over half a million by year-end, according to HSBC data, indicating much faster processing and clearing of bottlenecks.

HSBC is now extending the API integration to Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka, while Egypt is forecasted to go live within 2025.

This expansion will enable sales teams in each country to instantly release tickets sales using real-time API updates, confirming funds credits to Jazeera’s accounts, improving visibility, and streamlining reconciliation.

Payer identification & faster reconciliation

To address payer identification challenges, Jazeera is extending HSBC’s Virtual Account solution, already operational in the UAE and India, to other key markets, including Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka.

With virtual accounts, each travel agent and sales representative is assigned an individual account linked to a master account, ensuring transparency and simplifying reconciliation.

This solution makes sorting receivables much easier and reconciliation time shorter, while a liquidity management portal enhances cash visibility across all currencies and countries.

Over 1,000 new virtual accounts were requested by the airline, doubling its existing local currency, USD, and EUR virtual accounts. The combined power of HSBC’s Virtual Accounts and APIs allows the airline to fully leverage its ERP for seamless reconciliation.

Jazeera is also expanding HSBC’s MT940 reporting to automate reconciliation, cutting processing costs and avoiding duplicate records.

Host-to-Host connectivity for payables streamlining

Another part of the tailored solution package is HSBC Connect, which extends the host-to-host connectivity established in Kuwait to Jazeera’s other overseas markets, making payments and reporting simpler while eliminating manual interventions and checks.

Looking ahead

The partnership between Jazeera Airways and HSBC continues to grow.

Discussions are underway to adopt global disbursements for international payments and foreign exchange management, and commercial/virtual credit cards for crew accommodation booking for the markets currently maintaining relations. HSBC is also opening new accounts for the airline in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman where all Cash Management setups currently in place and under discussion should be replicated.

With over US$2.3 billion invested in digital solutions over the past decade, HSBC remains the right partner for firms looking to optimise treasury operations.

"With the Virtual Account-API solution, the process has become seamless for both the agents and our team, reducing the staff burden and ensuring auto reconciliation of bank accounts and agent accounts," says a Jazeera finance executive.

“The opening of additional virtual accounts and maintenance is also going very smoothly,” he says.

The implementation itself was extremely quick, taking only two months. This is half the time needed for cases of similar complexity and demonstrates the efficiency and dedication of the HSBC team.

“Our innovative capabilities and regional strength enable us to standardise product offerings and simplify client workflows,” says Waseem Awny, Head of Global Payments Solutions at HSBC Kuwait.

"This case study highlights the team's collaboration and client insight, cementing HSBC's role as a trusted cash management partner,” says Kyle Boag, Regional Head of Global Payments Solutions at HSBC MENAT.

Are you planning to streamline your treasury? Talk to our specialists today to learn how HSBC’s tailor-made solutions can help your business.