Conferma Pay Names Square Exec Jason Lalor as CEO

Conferma Pay has picked Square and Mastercard veteran Jason Lalor as its new CEO.

Lalor has more than 20 years of FinTech experience and will help Conferma Pay in its goal of accelerating the digitization of B2B travel payments, the U.K. company said in a Monday (Feb. 6) news release.

“Leaning into Conferma Pay’s new partnerships with Sabre and Mastercard, Lalor will lead the company as it seeks to build new and enhanced digital capabilities in virtual cards, transforming the payment experience for the travel industry,” the release said.

Prior to joining Conferma, Lalor served as chief executive of Square’s European business, headquartered in Dublin.

Before that, he spent six years in various roles at Mastercard, including general manager of its Irish business and vice president for European digital and FinTech partnerships. Lalor has also worked in senior roles at Barclaycard, American Express and Dell, the release said.

Sabre acquired Conferma Pay in August of last year as Sabre looked to increase its investment in the B2B travel space. The two companies had worked together for years, as Sabre Virtual Payments was built on Conferma Pay.

As PYMNTS noted at the time, research has shown that while B2B payments between merchants and the end-providers of services are a key part of the travel and tourism sectors, the management and execution of these payments can be quite complicated.

According to the “Smart Receivables Playbook,” a PYMNTS and Flywire collaboration, 62% of travel and tourism businesses say B2B payments are a pain point, with a fifth of these businesses saying they are a very or extremely significant pain point, and another 43% saying they are a somewhat significant pain point.

In November, Sabre teamed up with Mastercard to enable B2B travel payments with virtual cards. The collaboration creates securely generated, single-use card numbers that make it easier for travel buyers and suppliers to track and reconcile payments.

As part of that arrangement, PYMNTS reported, Mastercard made a minority investment in Conferma, which connects issuers to travel management firms, global distribution systems and online booking platforms.

“Virtual cards deliver visibility, boost liquidity and increase control over B2B payment flows, which enhance payment strategies and empower organizations across the travel value chain to run, grow and protect their business, which has never been more essential,” Mastercard Executive Vice President of Enterprise Partnerships Chris Fendley said at the time.

Both Mastercard and its rival Visa recently reported earnings that showed an increase in travel, helping boost spending levels.