TL;DR: Global technology leader Mastercard and Singapore-based digital travel platform Agoda are joining forces to modernize B2B payments in the travel and tourism sector. Recognizing the inefficiencies of traditional payment methods, the collaboration aims to streamline transactions between digital travel platforms, hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors worldwide. This initiative comes at a pivotal time as B2B payment demands in the tourism industry surge.
Mastercard and Agoda are taking a significant step to overhaul B2B payments in the travel industry, which has historically relied on manual and time-consuming processes like paper invoices. This move aims to bring efficiency and modernization to legacy payment systems, benefiting the entire ecosystem of digital travel platforms, hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors.
Empowering Digital Travel Platforms
Digital travel platforms, responsible for nearly 40% of global travel bookings, play a vital role in the growth of various travel-related industries. This partnership expansion comes at a crucial juncture when the demand for B2B payments in tourism is skyrocketing. The collaboration between Agoda and Mastercard is poised to drive this initiative forward, creating a seamless experience for all stakeholders.
Through the issuance of Mastercard virtual credit cards, Agoda gains the capability to facilitate B2B payments globally, wherever Mastercard is accepted. This development is poised to simplify transactions for digital travel platforms, ensuring smoother operations for payments to hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors around the world.
Elevating Customer Experience
The extended partnership will not only focus on payments but also aims to enhance end-to-end travel experiences. This includes delivering timely and personalized offers for Agoda customers using Mastercard’s data insights. Additionally, joint-marketing propositions and loyalty rewards for bookings made with a Mastercard card on Agoda will further enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Yunsok Chang, Executive Vice President, Market Development, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, said, “Mastercard has been longtime partners with Agoda and is proud to expand on this decade-long partnership that harnesses the power of collaboration to simplify B2B payments and fortify defenses against fraud, all while enhancing the customer experience and fostering greater loyalty. This milestone underscores Mastercard’s dedication to delivering cutting-edge solutions that empower businesses and elevate industry standards.”
Mai-Linh Bui, Chief Financial Officer at Agoda said, “I am delighted to announce the expansion of our strategic partnership with Mastercard and together, we are redefining the landscape of business-to-business (B2B) payments within the travel and tourism sector. Recognizing the challenges posed by outdated payment processes, our collaboration aims to revolutionize the way digital travel platforms engage with hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors worldwide.”
