Advantage Travel Partnership to work with Mastercard to simplify payments

The Advantage Travel Partnership has formed a partnership with Mastercard to make payment processes simpler and more efficient for the consortium, its members and their customers.

Over the next 18 months, Advantage members will have access to Mastercard products including virtual cards, T&E and central billing products, procurement cards, prepaid co-branded cards and ‘buy now, pay later’ solutions.

Advantage said payment flows are currently “largely complex and ineffective”, but the partnership with Mastercard would streamline and simplify processes and help businesses grow.

Andrea Caulfield-Smith, managing director of global business travel at The Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “This collaboration represents a strategic milestone for us, supporting our ambition to drive meaningful value for our members through streamlined, future-ready payment flows.”

Advantage said the existing payment flows failed to meet the evolving needs of travel management companies, citing a lack of efficiency, timeliness and user-centric design.

It added that Mastercard’s research suggested 50% of corporate travellers were dissatisfied with existing travel payment and expense management systems.

Advantage chose Mastercard as a partner because of its “global network, unmatched data insights, integration and innovation”.

The consortium will work with issuer partners to develop “a suite of holistic payment processes to use in pay in (AR) and pay out (AP)”.

The new processes should help to cut costs and maximise revenue growth, Advantage said, by improving financial management, securing incentives and “leveraging strategic issuer partnerships to unlock competitive rebates”.

Caulfield-Smith said: “By working with a globally trusted brand like Mastercard, we are not only reinforcing our commitment to innovation and operational excellence, but also ensuring our members are equipped with the tools they need to remain competitive in an increasingly complex financial landscape.

“This partnership continues to strengthen our single-stop solution and allows us to deliver even greater commercial benefit.”

Chiara Quaia, senior vice-president of B2B travel at Mastercard, said: “We’re proud to partner with The Advantage Travel Partnership to bring smarter, faster and safer payment solutions to the travel industry.

“Leveraging our global network, virtual card technology and data-driven insights, we’re transforming complex payment flows into seamless, consumer-like experiences.

“This provides a powerful platform to drive growth, safeguard reputation and unlock new opportunities across the sector.

“Together, we’re setting a new standard for efficiency and innovation in B2B travel payments.”