Nium, the real-time global payments provider, has expanded its B2B travel payments offering in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, building on rising demand for its virtual credit card offering globally.

Travel intermediaries and operators use the Nium virtual card solution to efficiently pay suppliers around the world. Its customers benefit from optimised working capital as a result of reduced foreign exchange fees, increased acceptance rates, faster reconciliation, fewer opportunities for fraud, and better protection against refunds.

Now, as part of the expansion, Nium is progressively rolling out a combination of domestic issuing and funding in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and Japan to further enhance the payment experience for its new and existing customers in APAC. This will be added to over 20 existing currencies already supported by Nium’s virtual card solution across Europe and North America.

Connexus Travel, a corporate travel management expert and business travel solutions provider, and Convergent, the global hotel B2B platform, are among the first of Nium’s customers to benefit from the new local funding and issuing capability in Hong Kong.

Anupam Pahuja, executive vice president and general manager of APAC, Middle East and Africa at Nium, explained: “In order to capitalise on the exciting growth opportunity at hand, travel businesses need more control, transparency, and insight into the way they make payments around the world. This expansion enables us to deliver just that, at a time when our customers need it most.”

The expansion comes amidst a rebound in APAC tourism after the global pandemic. The total travel market in APAC will reach a projected $490billion in 2025, 10 per cent higher than its 2019 value, regaining its top spot as the world’s largest regional travel market in the same year.

“Payment systems remain earthbound”

Today, Nium powers some of the largest online travel agencies, payment providers, airlines, and hotels across the globe including Love Holidays and Sabre Virtual Payments. Nium has issued over 30 million virtual cards over the last 12 months and scaled its B2B travel revenue by four times since 2021.

Spencer Hanlon, global head of travel payments at Nium, also discussed the news: “Travel is a dynamic industry that can enable humans to defy gravity, yet its payment systems remain earthbound.

“Razor-thin profit margins, tighter regulation, and changing consumer preferences mean online travel agents and intermediaries are increasingly demanding more flexible, secure, and cost-effective ways to pay their suppliers located around the world.

“Our roots as a remittance fintech born out of Singapore, combined with 20 years of travel expertise, means we are perfectly positioned to help our customers solve their unique payment problems with local execution on a global scale.”

Nium has established a strong foothold in Europe, the Americas, and APAC with an extensive global customer base. The expansion is the first step in a global travel innovation roadmap for Nium, with further geographic and product expansion in APAC and LATAM on the horizon.

In addition to its virtual credit card solution, the fintech offers a closed-loop payments solution for airlines, and real-time cross-border collections and payouts to bank accounts, digital wallets, and cards in over 100 currencies for global businesses, fintechs, and financial institutions.