Advantage Travel brings Mastercard into the company fold

Partnership to provide members with money movement options

Advantage Travel Partnership brought global technology company Mastercard on board to enable efficient money movement solutions for Advantage, its members and their customers. 

Working with an exclusive scheme and portfolio of issuer partners, The Advantage Travel Partnership will develop a suite of holistic payment processes to use in pay in (AR) and pay out (AP). 

This is the latest development of Advantage’s Single Stop Solution, a suite of products, solutions and capabilities available exclusively to members.

The partnership will bring payment into the foreground of travel, elevating the simplicity, process efficiencies and optimisation to transactions it brings. 

Money movement is critical across the travel ecosystem for Advantage members and partner suppliers whilst the industry is valued at $2.2trn each year and growing. 

Mastercard has been chosen as a partner due to its global network, unmatched data insights, integration and innovation.

Currently, payment flows are largely complex and ineffective, failing to meet the evolving needs of Travel Management Companies (TMCs). 

These outdated processes lack the efficiency, timeliness, and user-centric design required to support seamless operations and ensure customer satisfaction. Mastercard’s Proprietary Research highlights this disconnect, revealing that 50% of corporate travellers expressed dissatisfaction with existing travel payment and expense management systems.

Advantage members and partners will benefit significantly from streamlined and simplified payment processes that empower their businesses to operate efficiently and scale globally. 

By enabling the issuance and acceptance of transactions designed for rapid growth, they can better support expansive operations. 

These enhancements also help to reduce costs and optimise revenue growth by improving financial management, securing incentives, and leveraging strategic issuer partnerships to unlock competitive rebates. 

Additionally, businesses can add value for both them and their clients by safeguarding data with virtual card numbers, utilising advanced risk mitigation tools to protect their reputation, and offering enhanced services that build trust and strengthen client relationships.

Over the next 18 months, Advantage members will have access to Mastercard products, including:

•             Virtual Card Solution

•             T&E and Central billing products

•             Procurement cards

•             Pre-Paid Co-Branded Card

•             Buy Now, Pay Later solutions

“This collaboration represents a strategic milestone for us, supporting our ambition to drive meaningful value for our members through streamlined, future-ready payment flows,” said Andrea Caulfield-Smith, Managing Director Global Business Travel of The Advantage Travel Partnership. 

“This partnership continues to strengthen our Single Stop Solution and allows us to deliver even greater commercial benefit.”

Chiara Quaia, Senior Vice President, B2B Travel at Mastercard, added: “Together, we’re setting a new standard for efficiency and innovation in B2B travel payments.”