Conferma Pay has partnered with Mastercard to accelerate the use of virtual cards for B2B payments in the travel industry.
It follows the acquisition of Conferma by Sabre in August and is part of the travel tech company’s “goal to to create an open and independent travel payment ecosystem”.
Mastercard will make a minority investment in Conferma Pay as part of the agreement.
Virtual cards enable users to securely generate single-use card numbers
to provide a link between booking and associated payments to third party
suppliers. An article within BTN Europe's recent Smart Money report examined their uptake.
“The payments industry is in the midst of a revolution and there is an increased need for travel companies to better manage the whole payment experience,” says Roshan Mendis, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Sabre Travel Solutions.
“Companies in the travel space – including travel management companies, travel agencies, corporations, issuers and technology partners – need sophisticated solutions and seamless connections. Sabre is taking strategic steps to fulfill the needs of our industry, beginning with the acquisition of Conferma Pay. Now, the new partnership with Mastercard will help Conferma Pay to build new and enhanced digital capabilities in virtual cards, transforming the payment experience for issuers.”
Martin Cowley, interim CEO at Conferma Pay, adds: “We’ve already made significant inroads in the B2B travel space through partnering with Sabre. We are excited about the new investments. This, combined with our existing strong relationships, will enable Conferma Pay to build on our global footprint and be at the forefront of addressing industry challenges and opportunities.”
Conferma Pay connects issuers to more than 700 TMCs, all major global distribution systems and more than 100 online booking tools. It serves more than 50 banking partners who issue Conferma Pay generated virtual cards in nearly 100 currencies.