Worldline partners with Visa to launch virtual card issuing solution for Online Travel Agencies
Paris La Défense — 14 / 05 / 2024
Worldline [Euronext: WLN], a global leader in payment services, today announced a strategic partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments, to launch a new virtual card issuing solution. This strategic collaboration marks a pivotal moment, propelling Worldline beyond payment processing and into direct card issuance. The project will focus on the Online Travel Agency (OTA) market due to a high demand for this solution and Worldline’s strong heritage and portfolio in travel. By combining the parties’ acceptance networks and seamless payouts, the virtual card issuing solution will streamline cash flow for OTAs.
The OTA market is rapidly growing and demand for innovative payment solutions is surging. Industry analysts expect Travel and Tourism will generate 76% of all revenues from online sales by 2028 (Statista) while the entire travel industry is expected to reach USD 1.74 trillion in volume by 2026 (PhocusWright data). OTAs currently representing 40% of the global travel market (Pata: 3), are poised to play an increasingly influential role across all sectors, including airlines, hotels, packaged tours, rail, and cruises. For OTAs, virtual cards play an integral part in streamlining operational procedures and this new partnership enables the OTAs to further optimise their business.
By choosing Visa as its international scheme partner, Worldline will provide OTAs with access to a dedicated B2B virtual card programme and enable them to pay their suppliers more quickly and securely. With both parties making a significant investment into this partnership, the opportunity to substantially enhance the payments infrastructure of the online travel sector is clear.
The partnership connects Worldline’s Merchant Services Acceptance capabilities with its innovative Financial Services Card issuing platform. The offering, with joint acceptance and issuing, further supports OTAs in the management and optimisation of cash flows while reducing operational frictions. Worldline’s experience and deep understanding of the online travel sector will enable it to develop a market-leading solution that bridges the gap between acceptance and issuing.
Guillaume Tournand, VP of Growth at Worldline Merchant Services, said: “We are delighted to announce this significant partnership with Visa, a global influential and respected brand. It will transform the way online travel agencies handle payments by offering a unified solution that combines payment performance and cost effectiveness. By leveraging our strong travel footprint, this initiative unlocks significant market expansion for Worldline, propelling us as the leading payment solution for travel agencies and driving sustainable revenue growth.”
Ed Chandler, Senior Vice President, Visa Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, also comments: “At Visa, we obsess about working with partners to deliver innovative, secure and reliable payment solutions. We are excited to partner with Worldline, to streamline, unify and enhance how online travel agencies are paid and pay their suppliers seamlessly.”
About Worldline
Worldline [Euronext: WLN] helps businesses of all shapes and sizes to accelerate their growth journey – quickly, simply, and securely. With advanced payments technology, local expertise and solutions customised for hundreds of markets and industries, Worldline powers the growth of over one million businesses around the world. Worldline generated a 4.6 billion euros revenue in 2023. worldline.com
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