Sabre Corporation and Conferma Pay have partnered with Mastercard to accelerate the use of virtual cards for business-to-business travel payments. This builds on Sabre's August acquisition of Conferma Pay.
The collaboration with Mastercard is the next step in advancing Sabre's goal to create an open and independent travel payment ecosystem, according to Sabre.
Digitization of travel payments with virtual cards helps address the challenges associated with B2B leisure and corporate travel payments. The single-use card numbers provide a link between booking and associated payments to third-party suppliers, and travel buyers and suppliers can track and reconcile payments.
"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," said Roshan Mendis, EVP and chief commercial officer, Sabre Travel Solutions, in a statement. "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."
As part of the agreement, Mastercard has agreed to make a minority investment in Conferma Pay, which will continue to operate independently and serve the entire travel industry. Mastercard's investment in Conferma Pay is subject to customary closing conditions.
"A combination of experience, technologies and capabilities will accelerate travel payment innovation and drive inclusive and sustainable growth for the sector," said Chris Fendley, EVP, enterprise partnerships at Mastercard. "Virtual cards deliver visibility, boost liquidity and increase control over B2B payment flows, which enhance payment strategies and empower organizations across the travel value chain to run, grow and protect their business, which has never been more essential."
Conferma Pay connects issuers to more than 700 travel management companies, all the major global distribution systems and more than 100 online booking tools. Conferma Pay is fully integrated with all the major card schemes and serves more than 50 banking partners, who issue Conferma Pay generated virtual cards in nearly 100 currencies.
"We've already made significant inroads in the B2B travel space through partnering with Sabre," said Martin Cowley, interim CEO at Conferma Pay. "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."