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Atos Origin, an international IT services company and leader in hi-tech transactional services, has announced a major milestone in its strategy to grow its revenue from transaction based services with the launch of redspottedhanky.com (http://www.redspottedhanky.com/), the first consumer service from the IT B2B player.

redspottedhanky.com (http://www.redspottedhanky.com/) is an online travel retailer that provides an easy way for leisure and business travellers to compare and book cheap train tickets online, saving up to 80% on the cost of tickets booked in advance. It is also the first ever British online retailer to offer loyalty points that can be redeemed against future train travel for any journey in Great Britain. For a regular business traveller, participation in the loyalty scheme would allow them to earn points for redemption against future rail travel.

Keith Wilman, UK CEO at Atos Origin, said: "The launch of redspottedhanky.com (http://www.redspottedhanky.com/) is just one example of how our business is evolving into a transaction based model. The continued advance in technology together with strong price pressures means that our customers increasingly only want to pay for the outputs that we deliver. For this reason, we expect our revenue from our Hi-Tech Transactional Services business line to double within four years.

"redspottedhanky.com (http://www.redspottedhanky.com/) is our first offering for the consumer market and we believe that with the loyalty scheme, it offers something truly new for UK rail. For passengers, this means the chance to earn points while they save money when book train tickets, while for the rail industry as a whole, it will encourage more people to travel by train and strengthen customer loyalty."

As a major IT supplier to the UK transport industry and with more than 30 years' experience in delivering ticketing systems, Atos Origin has designed, built and now runs redspottedhanky.com. It provides fares for all journeys across the UK and delivers a price promise to match a cheaper fare if the customer finds one by refunding the difference in loyalty points direct to the customer^s account.

The name, redspottedhanky.com (http://www.redspottedhanky.com/), taps into the travelling mindset where anything and everything could be wrapped up in a red spotted hanky and thrown over your shoulder. In today^s context, it refers to organisations and individuals looking to unwrap cost savings, simplicity and getting the best value for money. The service will also include European rail travel including Eurostar and Event Ticketing.

Unlike other travel companies, we won't charge you to use your credit or debit card at redspottedhanky. We strongly feel that you already pay the banks enough for having a credit card, so we're not going to double charge you.

All business that take credit cards get charged by the banks to process the transaction, but you wouldn't be charged a credit card fee when paying for services at Tesco, Marks & Spencer, BP, Next, Boots and other retailers - so why should you be charged when you use your own electricity and broadband when buying travel tickets, hotels, car hire and event tickets from your home PC?

I've just looked at their website and there is a ^1 booking fee per order.  Looks like I'll be sticking to the EC website.

It says no booking, delivery or card fees except on next day delivery