ARC's Debit Memo Working Group (DMWG) said that it has created standard reason codes for all major categories of debit memos.
The codes were credited with helping drive a 46% reduction in the number of debit memos issued in the last two years and were considered a top priority of the DMWG, created three years ago by ARC to bring together airlines, travel agencies and GDSs to try and combat the debit memo problem.
The categories include commissions, fares, taxes, refunds, exchanges, fees and credit card chargebacks, and enable both travel agents and carriers to better analyze why debit memos are issued and create action plans to reduce their frequency.
The DMWG expects to publish and distribute the reason codes to all ARC participating carriers and agencies by the end of March 2016.
Shelly Younger, ARC's manager of settlement services, said the group's current challenge is to get as many carriers as possible to use the codes.
"If we get widespread commitment to the standards, debit memos will one day be no more than a minor inconvenience instead of the challenge it is now," she said.