Real-time payments company Nium is expanding its B2B travel payments offering in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in response to growing demand for its virtual credit cards.

The fintech, which achieved unicorn status at the start of last year, already offers a virtual card that is used by travel intermediaries and operators to pay suppliers.

But now the firm is growing out the programme, launching a combination of domestic issuing and funding capabilities in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Japan to further enhance the payments experience for its new and existing clients in the region. This will be in addition to more than 20 currencies supported by Nium’s virtual card solution in North America and Europe.

It comes amid resplendent growth in the tourism sector in APAC, which, like many service industries worldwide, was adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the many lockdowns that resulted from it. As travellers look to get out into the world again, it is expected that Asia-Pacific’s travel market will grow to a projected US$490bn by 2025 – 10% higher than its value in 2019, before the pandemic began.

Nium will aim to be at the front and centre of that growth, partnering with major travel firms including Love Holidays and Sabre Virtual Payments. It has already issued over 30m virtual cards over the last 12 months and scaled its B2B travel revenue by a factor of four since 2021.

Nium ‘perfectly positioned’ to solve travel industry’s payment problems

Anupam Pahuja, Executive Vice President and General Manager of APAC, Middle East and Africa at Nium, says: “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.”

“Travel is a dynamic industry that can enable humans to defy gravity, yet its payment systems remain earthbound,” adds Spencer Hanlon, Global Head of Travel Payments at Nium. “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.”