Checkout.com and Mastercard Enhance Payment Solutions for Online Travel Agents

In a strategic partnership, Checkout.com, a leading global payment service provider, has teamed up with Mastercard to introduce virtual cards tailored for online travel agents (OTAs), as outlined in The Fintech Times. This collaboration aims to simplify B2B payments within the travel sector, fostering easier transactions and higher conversion rates for Checkout.com customers.

Through the Mastercard Wholesale Program, Checkout.com clients will benefit from innovative pricing models and virtual card technology, which promise reduced costs for travel businesses. This move is part of a broader strategy to support OTAs and other travel-related enterprises in managing B2B payments efficiently. The travel market, which these solutions target, is expected to generate revenues of $1.5 trillion by 2027.

George Simon, EVP of Market Development Europe at Mastercard, emphasized the commitment to advancing the travel economy with digital payment solutions. «Over 400,000 travel providers worldwide rely on us to enable payments through the Mastercard Wholesale Program, and we’re thrilled to be collaborating with Checkout.com to support their customers to embrace the next generation of payment solutions for B2B travel,” Simon stated.

Meron Colbeci, Chief Product Officer at Checkout.com, highlighted the operational benefits of the partnership. «Together we’ll offer higher payment performance to travel merchants by combining the Mastercard Wholesale Program with our single integration connecting acquired sales to issued cards, which unifies acquiring and issuing, for better cash flow management,» Colbeci explained.

The integration of acquiring and issuing processes allows Online Travel Agents to smoothly transition from receiving customer payments to paying suppliers. This unified approach aims to eliminate the inefficiencies and potential errors that typically arise from managing these two facets separately, ensuring a streamlined operation from customer payment acquisition to supplier payouts.

This partnership follows Checkout.com’s expansion last year into card issuing in the UK and Europe, which enabled brands to efficiently manage card programs and fund cards.