Sabre Corporation a leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, and Conferma Pay, a global fintech firm that specializes in payment technology, today announced a new partnership with Mastercard to accelerate the use of virtual cards for business-to-business (B2B) travel payments.

Today’s announcement builds on Sabre’s August 2022 acquisition of Conferma Pay.  The collaboration with Mastercard is the next step in advancing Sabre’s goal to create an open and independent travel payment ecosystem.

Digitization of travel payments with virtual cards helps address the historic challenges associated with B2B leisure and corporate travel payments.  The securely generated, single-use card numbers provide a link between booking and associated payments to third-party suppliers.  Travel buyers and suppliers are therefore able to easily track and reconcile payments, as well as benefit from flexible pricing, financing options, and enhanced security through card payment guarantees.

“The payments industry is in the midst of a revolution and there is an increased need for travel companies to better manage the whole payment experience,” said Roshan Mendis, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Sabre Travel Solutions.  “Companies in the travel space – including travel management companies, travel agencies, corporations, issuers and technology partners – need sophisticated solutions and seamless connections.  Sabre is taking strategic steps to fulfil the needs of our industry, beginning with the acquisition of Conferma Pay.  Now, 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.”

As part of the agreement, Mastercard has agreed to make a minority investment in Conferma Pay, which will continue to operate independently and serve the entire travel industry and beyond.  Mastercard’s investment in Conferma Pay is subject to customary closing conditions.

“A combination of experience, technologies and capabilities will accelerate travel payment innovation and drive inclusive and sustainable growth for the sector,” said Chris Fendley, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Partnerships at Mastercard.  “Virtual cards deliver visibility, boost liquidity and increase control over B2B payment flows, which enhance payment strategies and empower organizations across the travel value chain to run, grow and protect their business, which has never been more essential.”

Conferma Pay connects issuers to more than 700 travel management companies, all the major global distribution systems and more than 100 online booking tools.  Conferma Pay is fully integrated with all the major card schemes and serves more than 50 banking partners, who issue Conferma Pay-generated virtual cards in nearly 100 currencies.

“We’ve already made significant inroads in the B2B travel space through partnering with Sabre,” said Martin Cowley, interim CEO at Conferma Pay.  “We are excited about the new investments.  This, combined with our existing strong relationships, will enable Conferma Pay to build on our global footprint and be at the forefront of addressing industry challenges and opportunities.”

Sabre’s Virtual Payments will continue to offer Conferma Pay services – with increased capabilities that help travel buyers, agencies and corporations best support travel customer needs.  Sabre Virtual Payments is a unique, secure, automated and integrated end-to-end payment solution designed to simplify and add value to the transactions that TMCs, OTAs, travel agencies, corporations and travel suppliers do every day.  Sabre Virtual Payments takes all the capabilities of Conferma Pay and its network of issuers and combines it with seamless integration across Sabre products for -connected travel buyers, agencies and corporations.

The global payment processing solutions market is expected to secure US$ 231.7 Billion while exhibiting a CAGR of 9.9% during the forecast period from 2022-to 2032. The growing application of smartphones and increasing penetration of the internet across the globe are expected to play a significant role in driving the market in the forecast period. 

With rising financial inclusion across the globe, the market is likely to witness significant opportunities for market growth. According to the Reserve Bank of India, India’s Financial Inclusion Index was 53.9 by the end of March 2021. The expanding financial inclusion across emerging economies is expected to augment the market size in the forecast period.

Key Takeaways:

• The global payment processing solutions market to secure US$ 90.4 Billion in 2022 
• The global payment processing solutions market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 9.9% from 2022- to 2032
• By payment method, the credit card segment is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period 
• The U.S market to value US$ 75.1 Bn by 2032 
• Market in China to grow by 8.6% CAGR from 2022- to 2032 
• The U. K market to hold a value of US$ 10.3 Bn by 2032 
• By mode of deployment, the cloud-based segment is expected to exhibit a growth rate of US$ 8.9% during the assessment period. 
• Market in Japan to expand by 8.6% CAGR by the end of the forecast period.

Competition Analysis 

Major players in global payment processing solutions include Mastercard, Global Payments, Paypal, Visa, Wirecard, and others. Recent developments in the industry are:

• In October 2021, Zettle Terminal was launched. It is a new, all-in-one point-of-sale solution that provides increased mobility in-store for SMEs. By 2022, Zettle Terminal would reach the U.S. It has already been launched in the U.K. in 2021.
• In November 2021, Fiserv announced the launch of Clover Online Ordering with Delivery. It offers flexible food delivery services with menu management, payment processing, and order through the newly introduced platform. 

More Valuable Insights

Future Market Insights, in its new offering, presents an unbiased analysis of the global payment processing solutions market, presenting a historical analysis from 2015 to 2021 and forecast statistics for the period of 2022-2032.

The study reveals essential insights on the basis of Payment Method (Debit Card, Credit Card, E-Wallet, ACH, and Others), Mode of Deployment (On-Premises, Cloud-Based), Vertical (BFSI, Government and Utilities, Telecom and IT, Healthcare, Real Estate, Retail and E-Commerce, Media and Entertainment, Travel and Hospitality, and Others), and Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia & Oceania, and the Middle East & Africa) 

These insights are based on a report on Payment Processing Solutions Market by Future Market Insights

365 Business Finance has partnered with Groov, a FinTech company which provides API access to data and revenue insights, enabling it to fully automate its SME lending offering.

The London-based lender is the first to partner with Groov. The integration will enable 365 Business Finance to get real-time revenue-based information and insights on transactional sources of data for its clients.

“We’re excited about our new partnership with Groov,” said 365 Business Finance Managing Director Andrew Raphaely. “In conjunction with our existing open banking technology, this gives us the ability to fully automate our offering, which ultimately means faster funding decisions for our clients. As a leader in revenue-based lending for UK SMEs, this is an important development in our fintech capabilities.”

Mark Hazzard, CEO of Groov, said, “We’re delighted to announce our partnership with 365, so soon after closing a seed funding round. It’s an excellent proof point for our Connect and Insights API products. We look forward to powering automated lending for UK merchants through the combination of Groov’s data infrastructure and 365’s in-house customer and risk solutions.”

365 Business Finance was recently named Business Lender of the Year at the British Business Awards, as well as Alternative SME Lender of the Year at the Lending Awards and SME Lender of the Year at the Credit Awards.

This marcus evans conference will showcase best practices to strengthen third-party risk management frameworks, through the procurement of new vendors, actively managing existing vendor relationships, incorporating best practices and principles to control concentration risk. Discerning mitigation through critical and high-risk environments, while sustaining recovery, through cyber security risk, which includes controlling breaches, through NTH parties, enhancing data privacy methods, and also discussing incorporating zero trust, where it should be implemented and why now.

Case studies by major US Financial Institutions such as New York Community Bancorp, Inc., Valley National Bank, Visa, American Express, Truist, Axiom Bank, Scotia Bank, Capital One, and many others.

Key Themes:

ENHANCING THIRD-PARTY RISK MANAGEMENT THROUGH HOLISTIC AND SCALABLE APPROACHES

Establishing Inherent Risk and Criticality of Third-Party Relationships

Designing Third-Party Vendor Contracts for Optimal Business Execution

MANAGING COMPLIANCE TO MAINTAIN SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORKS

Anticipating Updated Interagency Guidelines to Third-Party Risk Management Processes

Fostering a Positive Approach to Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Across Financial Industries

ENRICHING OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE THROUGH ACTIVE MANAGEMENT AND BEST PRACTICES

Adapting Risk Concentration Principles and Guidelines to Enhance Management Processes

Fortifying Processes to Mitigate Risk in Critical and High-Risk Third-Party Relationships

​ENHANCING DATA PRIVACY THROUGH ROBUST MANAGEMENT OF CYBER SECURITY METHODOLOGIES

Incorporating Zero Trust in Third-Party Risk Management Approaches

Assessing Preventative Risk Control Methods for Cloud Security and Third Parties

For more information, please contact Ayis Panayi at ayisp@marcusevanscy.com or visit the website here. 

Finastra today announced a new Center of Excellence (COE) at Malaysia’s MRANTI Technology Park in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. MRANTI Park is a hub for technology innovation, commercial adoption, and scientific excellence. It is an ideal location for Finastra to expand its Asia Pacific footprint, further contribute to the local economy, and promote Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) careers in a region dedicated to innovation.

Finastra will benefit from MRANTI’s integrated infrastructure and services. It will be able to tap into local IT talent, including from nearby universities and the growing start-up technology community there. The new COE will champion Finastra’s Lending, Universal Banking, Payments and Treasury & Capital Markets software solutions across the region.

With its FusionFabric.cloud open development platform, Finastra will continue to support innovation for its financial institution customers around the world, connecting fintechs - including those in Malaysia - to its core solutions. The new space will also embrace sustainability and contribute to the circular economy, being a low carbon development that uses renewable energy, aims to recycle all waste and conserves water through rain harvesting. Moreover, Finastra brings its ESG philosophy around unlocking the potential of people, business and communities.

Simon Paris, CEO at Finastra said, “Growth in Asia Pacific is one of our company’s key strategic commitments and opening a Center of Excellence in Kuala Lumpur is an important milestone to help us achieve this goal. This site is a hub for technology innovation and MRANTI’s desire to act as a connector, incubator, and catalyst to transform ideas from early-stage ideation to impact complements our collaborative mantra to drive innovation and technology acceleration around digital trade, digital finance and acceleration to cloud, in line with Government initiatives around digitalization there. It is also a testament to our highly valued Malaysian banking and financial services customers.”

Dzuleira Abu Bakar, Chief Executive Officer of MRANTI said, “Through our recently launched MRANTI Park Master Plan, we seek to inspire the world with a bold new model that accelerates ideas to impact by combining our developmental expertise with tech infrastructure and services for the creation, development and commercialization of technology and innovation. We are excited that a leading fintech company like Finastra is joining our growing community and look forward to supporting local tech innovation to transform our nations’ technology landscape.” 

The move is supported by Finastra’s investor, Vista Equity Partners, a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software that has over a dozen companies active in Malaysia. Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Vista Equity Partners said, “I’m honored by the long-standing commitment of our Malaysian investing partners and enterprise software customers, and the positive impact they’re enabling in the country. We’re delighted to grow our engagement with direct investment through this Finastra Center of Excellence in partnership with MRANTI, and are excited about further developing local IT talent and increasing opportunities for even more Malaysians.”

Moneybox has today announced two senior appointments to further strengthen its business and governance. 

Jane Cahill joins the award-winning digital wealth manager as Director of Data, Insights & CRM. Jeremy Marsden has been appointed to the Moneybox Board as an independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Board Risk Committee (subject to regulatory approval). 

Moneybox helps people build wealth with confidence, whatever their starting point, offering a range of products and services across home-buying, investing, retirement, and savings, all within one easy-to-use app, supported by award-winning technology and customer support. The platform supports more than 900k customers and has more than £3bn in assets under administration.

Jane joins from DAZN, a Global OTT Sports Platform where she held the position of Senior Vice President of Data Strategy and Enablement. Previously, she was Director of BI and Data Science at Paddy Power Betfair (now Flutter UK&I).

Speaking of her appointment, Jane Cahill commented; “As part of an ambitious and customer-first team, I look forward to helping realise the full opportunity of data and insights to power what is a world-class wealth-building platform. Through best practice applications of data science, insights, reporting, analytics, and CRM, we can better guide customers to achieve their goals, empowering the talented Moneybox team to connect with customers in the right way providing enhanced value at every stage of the journey.”

Having spent many years working in sports-adjacent businesses, where the passion that people feel for their teams and interests is a cornerstone of life, I look forward to helping fuel this same passion and enthusiasm among Moneybox customers for their savings, investments, and opportunities to build wealth in life.”

Charlie Mortimer, Moneybox co-founder said; “Moneybox now supports a community of nearly 1m customers, and Jane’s appointment will ensure we can harness the power of data to fuel our next phase of growth. It is fantastic to have someone with such depth of experience in this specialism on board. Jane’s expertise across the full range of data, insight, and CRM will be invaluable as we intelligently build increased personalisation for our customers across multiple financial and life goals.”

Jeremy Marsden is a Non-Executive Director and Board Committee Chair with significant expertise and executive experience in managing risk, regulatory compliance, governance transformation, and cultural change. Most recently, Jeremy was Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at BGL Group and prior to this, worked at the FCA in their Supervision Division. Jeremy is also a Non-Executive Director at Chill Insurance, Ireland's leading personal lines insurance intermediary.

Charlie Mortimer continued: “As we fulfill our mission to help people build wealth with confidence, a crucial pillar of success is making sure that we keep customers' money, assets, and data safe, and continue to run our business in a highly responsible way. Jeremy’s extensive business experience, combined with strong risk and regulatory expertise, will be invaluable to the business as we continue to build the UK's category-defining wealth management platform.”

While London is very much the epicentre of the Fintech success story in the country, the UK as a whole has created a strong ecosystem for the sector, spurring innovation in financial technologies. Still, London does rank as the second-highest ecosystem for Fintech in the world, continuing to attract high levels of investment in the sector.

The UK only looks to continue to be a major hub for Fintech. Through the first half of this year alone, the sector secured over $9 billion (£7.8 billion) of investment. This figure dwarfs that of the next-closest on the continent, Germany, where $2.4 billion (£2.1 billion) was secured.

So, with all of this drive in UK Fintech, what can consumers expect to see in the coming years, and how is it already taking hold?

Automation to put banking in the hands of customers

Source: Unsplash

In the UK, banking is still in somewhat of a state of transition to what many see as the future of personal finances. High street banks, while less many, are still a cornerstone of the industry, open to anyone with any kind of query. What new Fintech companies are doing, however, is challenging the traditional big names to put their services in the hands of customers rather than be less efficient with in-branch appointments and queries.

It’s a gradual process, but the number of services that require a visit to a branch is being reduced, instead becoming more convenient via digital options – particularly apps. Still, this goes beyond having a handy mobile app, as so many key processes are not only being automated for faster banking actions, but such options are becoming key selling points for industry-disrupting Fintech businesses.

For example, switching banks used to be quite a hassle, but now, the automated process can be completed within seven days and with the bonus of requiring minimum input from the consumer. First and foremost, however, it's always important to explore the different types of bank accounts available, in order to get a comprehensive view of the market. Once you've settled on a choice, the rest of the legwork is handled by the providers. When you switch banks, the new provider will automatically get details of your Direct Debits, bills, and standing orders and set them up within the new account for you, along with commissioning the old account holder to close your account once funds have been transferred.

Personalising insurance to custom-fit everyone

Source: Pexels

Fintech isn’t only helping with customer-facing banking options; it might just be making the world of insurance better as well. Insurtech, as it’s being called, is evolving insurance into a much more customer-centric sector, utilising artificial intelligence to help personalise plans and even offer custom products. As it develops, Insurtech may even do away with the need for human underwriters.

This part of it could be quite some way away, however. Nevertheless, the opportunity for artificial intelligence to help assess risk and reduce human error is there for all to see. For customers, the service becomes more streamlined and can be tweaked to suit their exact levels of risk. While this will make it more expensive for some, it’ll be cheaper for the greater customer base that’s of lower risk, so insurance will become more accurate.

In the UK, Fintech looks to continue to disrupt core financial sectors, doing so in a way that benefits the customers and drives competition across industries.