SOUTHLAKE, Texas and MANCHESTER, England, Nov. 28,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR)
a leading software and technology provider that powers the global
travel industry, and Conferma Pay, a global fintech firm that
specializes in payment technology, today announced a new
partnership with Mastercard to accelerate the use of virtual cards
for business-to-business (B2B) travel payments.
Today's announcement builds on Sabre's August 2022 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.
Digitization of travel payments with virtual cards helps address
the historic challenges associated with B2B leisure and corporate
travel payments. The securely generated, single use card numbers
provide a link between booking and associated payments to third
party suppliers. Travel buyers and suppliers are therefore able to
easily track and reconcile payments, as well as benefit from
flexible pricing, financing options, and enhanced security through
card payment guarantees.
"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, 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."
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 and beyond.
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, Executive Vice President,
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."
Sabre's Virtual Payments will continue to offer Conferma Pay
services – with increased capabilities that help travel buyers,
agencies and corporations best support travel customer needs. Sabre
Virtual Payments is a unique, secure, automated and integrated
end-to-end payment solution designed to simplify and add value to
the transactions that TMCs, OTAs, travel agencies, corporations and
travel suppliers do every day. Sabre Virtual Payments takes all the
capabilities of Conferma Pay and its network of issuers and
combines it with seamless integration across Sabre products for
-connected travel buyers, agencies and corporations.
About Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is a leading
software and technology company that powers the global travel
industry, serving a wide range of travel companies including
airlines, hoteliers, travel agencies and other suppliers. The
company provides retailing, distribution and fulfilment solutions
that help its customers operate more efficiently, drive revenue and
offer personalized traveler experiences. Through its leading travel
marketplace, Sabre connects travel suppliers with buyers from
around the globe. Sabre's technology platform manages more than
$260B worth of global travel spend
annually. Headquartered in Southlake,
Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160
countries around the world. For more information
visit www.sabre.com.
About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)
Mastercard is a global
technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to
connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits
everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and
accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and
passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial
institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest
potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and
everything we do inside and outside of our company. With
connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are
building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities
for all.
www.mastercard.com
About Conferma Pay
Conferma Pay is a global financial
technology company. It designs and integrate virtual payment
systems that provide a more efficient, seamless and secure way to
pay for businesses. Conferma Pay was born in Manchester in 2005. Since then, it has
connected over 700 TMCs, and directly integrates with all the major
GDSs and OBTs. Its roots lie in corporate travel payment
integration. It enables its payment providers to flow virtual cards
into the preferred purchasing process of any business travel buyer.
Crucial to this is its network of banking partners, who have issued
virtual cards in over 200 countries, in 40 currencies with over 45
commercial banking partners via all major card networks. Its
ecosystem continues to expand to meet the growing requirements of
its global customer base.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements herein
are forward-looking statements about trends, future events,
uncertainties and Sabre's plans and expectations of what may happen
in the future. Any statements that are not historical or current
facts are forward-looking statements. In many cases, you can
identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "expect,"
"believe," "likely," "encouraged," "resilient," "outlook," "goal,"
"opportunity," "target," "future," "trend," "plan," "guidance,"
"anticipate," "will," "forecast," "continue," "on track,"
"objective," "trajectory," "scenario", "strategy," "estimate,"
"project," "possible," "may," "should," "would," "intend,"
"potential," or the negative of these terms or other comparable
terminology, including statements regarding the potential timing,
completion, results or benefits of any transaction, investment or
partnership. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Sabre's
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performances or achievements
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, and there
can be no assurance regarding such items. More information about
potential risks and uncertainties that could materially affect
Sabre's business and results of operations is included in the "Risk
Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" sections in its Annual
Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on
February 18, 2022, its Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 2, 2022 and
in its other filings with the SEC. Although Sabre believes that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, Sabre cannot guarantee future events, outlook,
guidance, results, actions, levels of activity, performance or
achievements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements. Unless required by law, Sabre
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events after
the date they are made.
SABR-F
Sabre Contacts:
Media
Kristin Hays
Kristin.hays@sabre.com
Heidi Castle
heidi.castle@sabre.com
Investors
Kevin
Crissey
sabre.investorrelations@sabre.com
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