Mastercard Agrees to Take Stake in Conferma

Mastercard is partnering with Sabre Corp. and Conferma Pay to build new capabilities for virtual cards, and Mastercard will take a minority stake in Conferma as part of the deal, Sabre announced.

Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed and remain subject to customer closing conditions, according to Sabre.

Sabre acquired Manchester-based Conferma in August and is offering its services as part of Sabre Virtual Payments, which integrates Conferma and its issuer network across Sabre’s products. That acquisition alongside the Mastercard partnership is part of a goal for Sabre to “create an open and independent travel payment ecosystem,” according to Sabre.

“Companies in the travel space—including travel management companies, travel agencies, corporations, issuers and technology partners—need sophisticated solutions and seamless connections,” Sabre Travel Solutions EVP and chief commercial officer Roshan Mendis said in a statement. “The new partnership with Mastercard will help Conferma Pay to build new and enhanced digital capabilities in virtual cards, transforming the payment experience for issuers.”

Conferma—which reports connections to more than 700 travel management companies, all major global distribution systems and more than 100 online booking tools—will continue to operate as an independent entity, according to Sabre.

For Conferma, the Mastercard partnership will “enable Conferma Pay to build on our global footprint and be at the forefront of addressing industry challenges and opportunities,” according to Conferma interim CEO Martin Cowley. 

Payment offerings have become an increasing focus for travel companies in the past few years. In recent weeks, Amadeus announced it will launch its own wholly owned payments business, Outpayce, next year, with a pre-paid virtual card as its first offering.