There are 16 FAQs for Online Booking: Payment options.

What payment methods are available when booking online at emirates.com?

emirates.com offers a variety of payment methods and the options available to you will depend on the country that your booking departs from and the amount of time left before you depart.

You may be offered one or more of the following payment options:

• Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express)
• Debit Card (Maestro in the UK and Carte Bleue in France)
• PayPal (currently available in for bookings in Euros and GB Pounds only)
• Direct Debit
• Real-time or online bank transfer
• Western Union
• Offline bank transfer  

Since we have different payment options from different countries, we would ask that you check during the booking process what payment options are given to you. If your desired payment option is not shown, it may not be available for the country that you are departing from, or there is too little time left before departure.

In some countries we may only offer the option to make the booking online and then make payment at an Emirates office.

Can I pay for an online booking with my credit card if I am not travelling myself?

This will depend on the country of departure of the ticket.

On the Enter billing information page where the credit card details are entered, if the "Cardholder name" can be typed in, you would be able to pay for the booking even if you are not travelling. If the "Cardholder name" appears in a drop-down menu and cannot be changed, you would unfortunately not be able to pay for the booking unless you are travelling.

In some countries, for security reasons, the holder of the credit card used to book a ticket or group of tickets must be one of the travellers on that itinerary, and will be required to show the actual credit card at the airport check-in counter prior to receiving boarding passes.

Skywards members may make a redemption booking for friends and family, and pay for the applicable taxes online with their own credit cards, if the country of departure offers credit card payment.

Business Rewards administrators may also pay for their organizations members bookings by credit card, if the country of departure offers credit card payment.

How can I pay for someone else if the rules state that I cannot use my credit card?

If the country that the ticket departs from does not allow you to use your card if you are not travelling, depending on the departure country and the time before departure, you might be able to use another payment method that does allow you to pay for someone else.  The payment methods that support this are PayPal, real-time or online banking, offline bank transfer, or Western Union.

Can I use my debit card?

Some debit cards are accepted however this will depend on the country of departure i.e. Maestro & Solo for UK departures,  Carte Bleue for departures from France. Payment by your debit card is instant and the whole amount is taken. VISA debit cards are generally accepted; however your bank may or may not have enabled internet payments on your VISA debit card. Please check with your bank.

Can I pay a deposit to hold the booking or can I pay in instalments?

emirates.com does not offer this facility at this time and full payment is required at the time of payment.

Can I pay for one booking with more than one card?

emirates.com does not offer the facility to pay with more than one credit card for one booking at this time.

What are the online payment rules?

When you are required to enter your billing information and credit card details during the payment process, you will see the link to the right of the screen called ‘See online payment rules’.

These rules apply for all bookings made on emirates.com:

1. In some countries, for security reasons, the holder of the credit card used to book a ticket or group of tickets must be one of the travellers on that itinerary, and will be required to show the credit card at the airport check-in counter prior to receiving boarding passes. In other countries, the card holder does not have to be one of the travellers. See our Online Booking Basics FAQs for information on how to find out which countries allow this.
2. When booking travel originating from some specific countries, the credit card used to make the online payment for this booking will be verified at the time of check-in. If you are not able to produce the card used for payment of booking at the time of check-in, you will not be allowed to fly. If this applies to you, you will be notified during the booking process.
3. Please note that since Emirates is based in Dubai, UAE, it is possible that for your online transaction, your credit card issuing bank will charge a fee for usage of the card in a foreign country. For further information, please contact your credit card issuing bank.
4. Emirates will charge your credit card in the currency that is given on the booking confirmation. If you are not using a credit card based in the country of departure of the ticket, your card issuer may apply charge a fee for transactions in a foreign currency, and also apply different exchange rates compared to those given by the Currency Converter on our site. Please check with your credit card issuer for any fees and their applicable exchange rates.
5. In most cases, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club and American Express can be used for payment. When departing from a few countries however, Diners and American Express may not be available. The "Card type" drop down menu will show the card types that you can use for that departure country.
6. For payments by Visa card, depending on your card issuer, you may have to complete an extra level of security checks through the Verified by Visa scheme - a popup window will appear after you confirm purchase of your itinerary containing your banks logo, in which you must provide your Verified by Visa password. This is not the PIN used for ATM/Cash machines. If you are requested to enter this password, but you have not registered for the scheme, please contact your bank to register. If you are requested to enter this password and you choose to continue without entering it, or enter the incorrect password, your booking would not be successful.
7. For payments by MasterCard, depending on your card issuer, you may have to complete an extra level of security checks through the MasterCard SecureCode scheme - a popup window will appear after you confirm purchase of your itinerary containing your banks logo, in which you must provide your MasterCard SecureCode password. This is not the PIN used for ATM/Cash machines. If you are requested to enter this password, but you have not registered for the scheme, please contact your bank to register. If you are requested to enter this password and you choose to continue without entering it, or enter the incorrect password, your booking would not be successful.
8. If your credit card is issued in India, we only accept international Credit Cards.

What currencies can I pay in and can I select to pay in a different currency?

When booking online, you are normally quoted the amount payable in the currency that is used in the country of departure. For example, UAE Dirham if departing from Dubai, UK Pounds if departing from the UK.

We do offer a choice of other currencies to pay in when paying by Visa or MasterCard only. Please be aware that if you select to pay in a currency that is different to the one that your credit card issuer bills you in, your credit card issuer will use their own exchange rates and may also apply charge for having a transaction taking place abroad - unfortunately Emirates have no control over your card issuers exchange rates or these charges set by your bank.

Who is GlobalCollect and why is it handling my payment?

GlobalCollect is a Payment Service Provider specialised in money collection and settlement with expertise in electronic payment methods in a wide range of industries such as travel, telecommunications, retail, portals, online games & digital content. Emirates has chosen Global Collect in order to offer a wider range of payment options that are more convenient to you. GlobalCollect will process your payment on behalf of Emirates.

What is Western Union?

Western Union is a safe and widely used money transfer service available through thousands of Western Union agents worldwide, meaning that you can send and receive money within minutes.

When booking online at emirates.com and selecting the option to pay by Western Union, once you have completed your booking, you will be given a pre-filled Western Union Quick Pay form to print out. Please take this form, your money and a form of Identification (ID) to your nearest Western Union Quick Pay branch and pay within 48 hours of booking. They will accept your payment and enter the data into their system and transmit the funds to Emirates. Once we have confirmed that we have received your money, we will automatically issue your e-ticket and e-mail it to you. Please allow 7 days for this to happen.

Please note that Western Union will apply a charge for this service that is not included in your fare.

What is PayPal?

PayPal is a safe, easy way to pay. The service allows anyone to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts, buyer credit or account balances, without sharing financial information. Before using PayPal, you need to register with them, and you need to register a method of payment with them, such as a credit or debit card.

When booking online at emirates.com and selecting the PayPal option, you will be sent to the PayPal website, where you will need to log-on and select one of the payment methods that you have registered with them in order to pay. PayPal will process your payment, and you will then be taken back to emirates.com, where your booking confirmation and e-tickets will be given. PayPal provides payment to Emirates on your behalf, and your payment method details are not given to Emirates.

What bank transfer options do I have?

There are two types of bank transfer options:

• Real time payments – real time & online banking  - payment is taken immediately. Ticket are issued automatically and e-mailed to you as soon as payment has been successful.
• Non-real time payments – offline bank transfers - these payment options will be made available depending on the country of departure and departure date. As these payments cannot be confirmed real-time, Emirates has to wait for the payment to come in to the specific bank account. As soon as the payment is reported as successful, the ticket will be issued. Read about offline bank transfer payment here.

Where are the real-time banking payments available?

Real-time banking payment options are currently available via emirates.com in the following countries:

• China - IPS (China – part of CUP) – Chinese real time bank transfer. When choosing to pay with the local Chinese card, the online shopper will be directed to Chinese acquirer’s secure payment pages which are presented in Chinese and English languages. The online shopper selects their bank and is re-directed to enter their debit card number and PIN number. The bank will notify the shopper immediately on the transaction’s results. It is a combination of the debit card payment (shopper experience) with real-time bank transfer (payment confirmation process)
• Austria - EPS payment – EPS e-payment is a new payment standard in Austria. E-payment interfaces into online payment systems of Austrian Banks for guaranteed payments. The online shopper chooses EPS. Shopper is re-directed to the banking interface and logs directly to his/hers bank. The shopper confirms the payment to Emirates with his TAN. After the payment has been successfully completed, the shopper is re-directed back to emirates.com with the payment confirmation.
• Singapore - eNETS – eNETS is a very convenient payment method for the shoppers in Singapore. Shopper simple chooses eNETS as the payment method, is then re-directed to the eNETS login screen to select preferred bank, enter log in details and authorize the payment. Once authorized, the shopper is re-directed back to emirates.com with the real-time payment confirmation.
• Germany (1) - Giropay – is a simple, fast and secure online payment method based upon online banking. When paying with Giropay, you are directed via a secure connection to your online bank account at your financial institution. There you log in with a PIN and confirm the payment with a TAN. Giropay was created by Postbank, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and Volksbanken-Raiffeisenbanken.
• Germany (2) - Sofortüberweisung - is a simple, fast and secure online payment method based upon online banking. When paying with Sofortüberweisung, you are directed via a secure connection to your online bank account at your financial institution. There you log in with a PIN and confirm the payment with a TAN.
  The bank then asks you to enter a number of details and has you authorize the payment. The amount is then debited directly from your payment account and the online retailer is informed that the order has been paid.

What is offline bank transfer payment?

Offline Bank Transfer (wire transfer) is a very safe payment method. Once you have chosen to pay by bank transfer, and select the option to complete your booking, the bank account details will be displayed where the amount of the order (ticket fee) should be paid to. You will also receive a payment reference. You can then make payment from your bank into the bank account specified within 48 hours.  It is extremely important to include the payment reference with the transfer. Based on this reference, payment will be matched with the booking and confirmed to Emirates. Based on this confirmation, ticket will be issued and sent to you automatically. If you do not include this payment reference there may be a problem issuing your ticket.

What is Direct Debit – ELV – Germany?

Available only for departures from Germany and only for those with German Bank Accounts, the ELV (Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren) allows you to make fund transfers directly from your bank account to pay for your ticket, once your bank account is verified. Your bank account will be debited in € EUR. You can book for up to two people at the same time, but you must be one of the travellers. It is not possible to use your account to book a ticket for someone unless you are travelling with them in the same booking.

How can I make purchases my ticket using ELV?

If you are a German bank account holder you may purchase your flights using ELV direct debit payments. You will be offered the option of paying with ELV if there is a minimum of 14 days prior to your flight departure date and the flights you wish to purchase are quoted in Euros.

The ELV Direct Debit payment option is fully integrated into Emirates online booking tool and requires you to first verify your bank account. You can book for up to two people at the same time, but you must be one of the travellers. It is not permissible to use your account to book a ticket for someone unless you are travelling with them.

When you finalize your booking and you are ready to pay, choose the e-ticket and then  "Direct Debit" option and click on the "ELV" button.  You will then be asked to provide your banking details as they appear on your bank account statement. Once you have done so, you can enter the amount which is the total ticket fare including tax.  Click ("Submit") to process the payment.  Then Click Continue when you are done. The  EUR ticket price will be authorized.
Your ticket will be issued within (7 days) as it can take up to 7 days for the funds to be received from your bank.

What will it cost me to use ELV at Emirates?

There are no fees for using ELV at emirates.com as long as your ELV transactions are not declined by your bank. Passenger are responsible for any fees charged by their banks as well as fees incurred for debits that are declined due to insufficient funds (NSF) or other reasons.

What should I do if I paid but have not received a ticket?

If paying by credit or debit card, and you have confirmed that you have been charged but not received e-tickets, please contact your local Emirates office either by e-mail or using the online form and provide details on the transaction, so that it can be traced and you can be assisted.

If paying by Western Union or Offline Bank Transfer, please allow 7 days from the date of booking to allow time for your payment to be recognized and tickets issued. If you have not received e-tickets after this time, please contact your local Emirates office by e-mail and provide them with a copy of your payment receipt given to you by the Western Union agency or your bank. We will attempt to trace your payment in our system and then assist you in issuing tickets.