SINGAPORE – October 30, 2023 – Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, is expanding its partnership with Agoda, a digital travel platform headquartered in Singapore. The expanded partnership will enhance business-to-business (B2B) payments in the travel and tourism industry, addressing the challenges of legacy payment processes and driving innovation beyond traditional card payments, making it easier for digital travel platforms to make payments to hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors globally.
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. Mastercard and Agoda recognize the urgent need to modernize these payment systems and streamline transactions between digital travel platforms, hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors globally.
Digital travel platforms account for approximately 40% of global travel bookings and are a vital growth engine for airlines, hotels, tour operators, railways, cruise lines, and their other partners, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). This partnership expansion comes at a crucial time when B2B payment needs in the tourism industry are soaring, and the collaboration between Agoda and Mastercard will play a pivotal role in driving this initiative forward.
Through the exclusive issuance of Mastercard virtual credit cards, Agoda will be able to make and receive B2B payments globally wherever Mastercard is accepted. The expanded partnership will also focus on driving smoother and smarter end-to-end travel experiences such as bringing timely and curated offers for Agoda customers using Mastercard’s data insights, joint-marketing propositions to further enhance customer satisfaction, and loyalty rewards when booking with Agoda using a Mastercard card.
Yunsok Chang, Executive Vice President of Market Development, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, said, “Mastercard has been a longtime partner 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.”
About Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com
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.
About Agoda:
Agoda, a digital travel platform, helps anyone see the world for less with its great value deals on a global network of 3.9M hotels and holiday properties worldwide, plus flights, airport transfers, and more. Agoda.com and the Agoda mobile app are available in 39 languages and are supported by 24/7 customer support.
Headquartered in Singapore, Agoda is part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG) and employs more than 6,700 staff in 31 markets, dedicated to leveraging best-in-class technology to make travel even easier.
Image by: Pixabay
