KLM has become one of the first companies to start making use of PSD2, otherwise known as the updated European Payment Services Directive. This means that customers can make purchases from its website using a platform that is both more secure and convenient than incumbent alternatives.

Internet Retailing reports that PSD2 is an important development not just for safe shopping online but also for web-based banking and other financial transactions. The idea is that the means by which payments are authorised need not be tied into a separate credit or debit card; instead a customer can opt to give the go-ahead by using fingerprint scanning or face recognition on their smartphone, for example.

Other means of authorisation are also acceptable, including the use of a password which is linked to an online bank account. 

PSD2 is arriving in the UK before any other part of Europe, and this country will effectively be the proving ground for the technology, with retailers able to adopt it and cut out the middle man when taking payments.

KLM spokesperson Pieter Groeneveld said that the airline was excited to be able to take advantage of this new standard and improve the online shopping experience for customers looking to book flights on its site in the UK.

Using a payment card to buy a ticket with the airline will still be an option, but the arrival of this technology means that the company can expand its offerings and allow consumers to choose a simpler, quicker and safer way to pay.

As PSD2 is being rolled out to cover 90 per cent of bank accounts in the UK, it will likely emerge in other settings and become a common feature of e-commerce across the board over the next few years.