Mastercard is expanding its partnership with Agoda, a digital travel platform headquartered in Singapore, in a bid to bolster B2B payments.
The collaboration will specifically focus on B2B payments within the travel and tourism industry – eyeing the increased digitalisation of the sector.
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 defences 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.”
The B2B payments landscape in the travel industry has historically lagged behind consumer payments, relying on manual and time-consuming processes such as paper invoices.
In forming the latest collaboration, Mastercard and Agoda highlighted the need to modernise these payment systems and streamline transactions between digital travel platforms, hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors globally.
Digital travel platforms account for approximately 40% of the global travel bookings, and are a vital growth engine for airlines, hotels, tour operators, railways, cruise lines and other partners, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
Mai-Linh Bui, Chief Financial Officer at Agoda, added: “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.
“Recognising the challenges posed by outdated payment processes, our collaboration aims to revolutionise the way digital travel platforms engage with hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors worldwide.”
