WEX and Sabre Partner on Virtual Cards for Travel Agencies

WEX and Sabre Direct Pay have partnered to provide virtual card solutions to travel agencies and other travel intermediaries.

In this strategic global partnership, the customers of Sabre Direct Pay, which is Sabre’s dedicated travel payments hub, will gain access to WEX’s virtual card technology, the companies said in a Monday (June 9) press release.

This combination will simplify transactions across multiple currencies, borders and time zones, according to the release.

Virtual card solutions will provide travel intermediaries with faster payments; a way to avoid foreign exchange and conversion expenses; rich metadata with each transaction; a simpler chargeback process; and decreased vulnerability to fraud, per the release.

“WEX’s partnership with Sabre is driven by the need to equip travel suppliers and agencies worldwide with industry-leading virtual payment capabilities, so that they can continue to meet demand in this fast-evolving travel landscape,” Jason Hancock, general manager and vice president of global travel at WEX, said in the release.

Patricio Boccardo, managing director of Sabre Direct Pay, said in the release: “WEX’s decision to work with Sabre Direct Pay reflects a broader shift we’re seeing across the industry — a move towards integrated, virtual payment solutions that are purpose-built for travel.”

The management and execution of B2B payments between merchants and end-providers in the travel and tourism sectors can be very complex, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Flywire collaboration, “Smart Receivables Playbook: Rethinking Payments Processing After the Pandemic.”

The report found that 23% of travel and tourism businesses said they would be very or extremely likely to change to a new payment processor if the processor would make payouts easy and convenient, and another 38% would be somewhat likely to do so.

Any conversation about payments innovation in business revolves around virtual cards, WEX President of Corporate Payments Eric Frankovic told PYMNTS in an interview posted in April.

“We’re seeing more companies that maybe have been a little resistant in the past now making outreach,” Frankovic said. “What’s going to drive adoption not only short term, but over the next five or 10 years, is going to be the sellers of these products — the banks and payment companies getting sharper, making it easier, integrating with their ERP systems, and consulting with them on the best treatment of suppliers.”