The uplift in commission will be effective from January and will apply to all transactions.

The move comes as new legislation will prohibit agents from charging fees to customers for the use of debit and credit cards.

The Payment Services Directive 2, which will come into effect on January 13 2018, means agents will no longer be allowed to charge customers for paying by credit card.

Brad Bennetts, Kuoni national sales manager, said: “It may be good news for consumers but the impact on agents’ bottom line from not being able to charge for credit card payments will be significant.

“We know this topic has been front of mind for any of our travel agent partners. The financial impact is a genuine cause for concern for them.

“Trade support is really important to our business and we want to send a clear message to agents now to say that we get it. We’ve listened and we want to take early meaningful action to help you to run your business

profitably.

“We will cover the agents’ costs by raising commission.

“It will be there for all independent agents from the start of next year when the legislation is due to come into force.

“In developing this proposal we had some really useful conversations with The Advantage Travel Partnership who have welcomed our move.

“As industry leader for worldwide travel for more than 50 years, we remain firmly committed to supporting and investing in the trade. It feels right that we should take the lead in responding to this potentially costly legislative change.”

Kuoni’s move follows Aito’s recommendation earlier this month that member tour operators pay an additional 0.5% commission when PSD2 is introduced.