Agoda and Mastercard to drive B2B payments for the travel industry

By Gloria Mathias

Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, has expanded its partnership with Agoda, a digital travel platform headquartered in Singapore.

The expanded partnership will enhance B2B payments in the travel and tourism industry, addressing the challenges of legacy payment processes and beyond traditional card payments, making it easier for digital travel platforms to make payments to hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors globally.

Mastercard and Agoda recognize the urgent need to modernize these payment systems and streamline transactions between digital travel platforms, hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors globally. The collaboration between Agoda and Mastercard will play a pivotal role in driving this initiative forward.

Through the exclusive issuance of Mastercard virtual credit cards, Agoda will be able to make and receive B2B payments globally wherever Mastercard is accepted. The expanded partnership will also focus on smarter end-to-end travel experiences such as bringing timely and curated offers for Agoda customers using Mastercard’s data insights, joint-marketing propositions, and loyalty rewards when booking with Agoda using a Mastercard card.

Yunsok Chang, Executive Vice President, Market Development, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, said, “Mastercard has been longtime partners with Agoda and is proud to expand on this decade-long partnership that harnesses the power of collaboration to simplify B2B payments and fortify defenses against fraud, all while enhancing the customer experience and fostering greater loyalty. This milestone underscores Mastercard’s dedication to delivering cutting-edge solutions that empower businesses and elevate industry standards.”

Mai-Linh Bui, Chief Financial Officer at Agoda said, “I am delighted to announce the expansion of our strategic partnership with Mastercard and together, we are redefining the landscape of business-to-business (B2B) payments within the travel and tourism sector. Recognising the challenges posed by outdated payment processes, our collaboration aims to revolutionise the way digital travel platforms engage with hotels, airlines, suppliers, and vendors worldwide.”