Ryanair 'moves the goalposts' by charging for Visa debits

Published on Monday 30 November 2009 21:54

RYANAIR is abolishing the only payment option that enables passengers to avoid fees for booking flights.

The no-frills airline is replacing the Visa Electron debit card as its free payment option with a MasterCard prepaid cash card, which normally incurs a range of fees from its issuing banks.

The Electron had been the only way travellers could avoid "payment handling fees" of 5 per passenger, per flight. But from 1 January the Electron will join other credit and debit cards by incurring the Ryanair fees.

This means two adults booking return flights are charged 20, even if the flights are paid for on the same card in the same transaction.

Ryanair said that instead it would accept from today the MasterCard prepaid credit card as its "sole free from of payment".

The airline said the card was more widely available than Visa Electron, which is being phased out by some banks. It is not available in several countries including Ireland, where Ryanair is based.

MasterCard prepaid cards are available through a number of banks and other parties, including Ryanair.

The cards are pre-loaded with funds, so people do not need to be credit-checked to get one, but they do typically charge a range of fees, such as a set-up fee, monthly service charge, loading fee or cash withdrawal or purchase fee.

Consumer groups said the move was another blow for passengers.

Daniel Lawrence, consumer products analyst at Moneysavingexpert.com, said: "This is another example of Ryanair making it difficult for passengers to avoid charges.

"It has moved the goalposts given many would have already got a Visa Electron card to beat the charge.

"It's not all bad news as savvy consumers can still bypass the fee, but it adds complication to what should be a simple process."