Mastercard has joined forces with HSBC Middle East to launch Mastercard Wholesale Program in the region. The move marks the continuation of a long-standing strategic partnership between the two companies and aims to advance automation of buyer and supplier payments for HSBC’s travel merchant customers.
By leveraging virtual cards to digitise the way travel organisations pay each other for the various elements that make up a consumer’s trip, the collaboration expects to boost liquidity and enhance security across the travel value chain.
HSBC will deploy the Mastercard Wholesale Program (MWP), a virtual card-based B2B payment product, for the first time in the Middle East to its travel industry customers to advance secure, streamline and automated B2B travel transactions.
The solution has been specifically designed for and with the travel industry, addressing the lack of visibility, control and protection associated with manual payment methods that are still rife across the sector. The proposition is part of Mastercard’s multi-rail strategy that is being used by over 400,000 travel merchants globally.
“By using the Mastercard Wholesale Program, traditional and online travel agencies, bedbanks, tour operators and travel management companies will enjoy more control over payment options, while improving cash flow through a secure and efficient platform,” said Kyle Boag, Head of Global Payments Solutions for HSBC in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye region.
Insights from IATA predict that 4.7 billion people will travel by air in 2024, a historic high that exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 4.5 billion recorded in 2019. As consumers return to travel and the industry continues to grow, re-thinking the processes and technologies that bring these bookings to life is seen as a key challenge; one which this new prgogram is trying to address.
