The UAE continues to catch the attention of major multinational payments stakeholders, as does the travel industry – with both the focus of Visa’s latest partnership.
This week, Visa announced a collaboration with Qashio, a Dubai-based spend management company. The partners are working on the development of a travel industry-focused initiative, the Visa Commercial Choice Travel programme.
The solution uses real-time data and analytics to assist with cashflow tracking and budgeting and will be targeted at travel stakeholders in the UAE and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as the UK and EU.
A high-value and high-volume industry, the travel sector has been increasingly targeted by major payments firms in the latter half of 2024. Visa’s main competitor Mastercard, for example, signed a travel-focused deal with payments processor Worldpay in November.
“Travel and tourism are key sectors driving growth and diversification of UAE and the region’s economies,” explained Salima Gutieva, Visa’s VP and Country Manager for the UAE.
“Visa is delighted to partner with Qashio in bringing this innovative solution that leverages Visa’s technology, extensive network, and data analytics.
“This partnership reflects our commitment to providing secure and seamless payment solutions that enable the digital transformation and improve efficiencies of travel and tourism companies.”
The finance and fintech sectors in the UAE, meanwhile, have also been garnering more attention. The country, along with other Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia, has been actively encouraging the development of a vibrant finance sector as it seeks to diversify its economy.
Visa’s latest partnership in the country follows moves by other major international payments and finance players like Crypto.com and Apple, as the former made an acquisition in the country late last year, while the latter launched its Tap to Pay functionality.
The fact travel and tourism is a target market in Visa’s UAE efforts is also not a coincidence, with this industry being one of the country’s biggest economic growth drivers. It is estimated that the sector generates over 11% of the UAE’s GDP, and the country expects this to reach 16% by 2031.
Armin Moradi, CEO and Co-Founder of Qashio, said: “We are committed to continue our joint growth with Visa, a global leader in payments innovation, to management.
“We recognise that the travel and tourism industry is key in the region however the travel companies are underserved with strong technical payment solutions that work in their favour, we are creating a one-stop platform that simplifies the corporate travel experience for our clients, allowing them to focus on what truly matters – growing their businesses.”
