Where are we going next?

Who’s ready to travel again? I know I am!

Lately, it feels like everyone is ready to dust off that suitcase, pack some sunscreen, and hit the road. While cases globally vary and some nations are experiencing painful loss, promising vaccination rates and easing lockdown restrictions in Europe and the United States are spurring a global recovery – one that starts in 2021 and leads to records in 2022.

 We’re already seeing the signs. Airport traffic is nearing pre-pandemic numbers. Online vacation sites, such as Vrbo and Airbnb, are anticipating record reservations in Q4 and airlines are adding more flight times to popular routes. Leisure travel is just the beginning as consumers look to go somewhere – anywhere – to escape the quarantine blues.

 Corporate travel, on the other hand, will be less resilient. Companies are being very selective about in-person meetings, seeing the success of remote work and virtual meeting strategies. And, while business travel won’t be what it once was, it will still play a role when the connection via Teams and Zoom just won’t suffice. There’s just no virtual replacement for the sound of a glass clinking to celebrate a big win.

 But, while the travel industry will be back, it won’t be the same. Digital consumer experience technologies, accelerated during the pandemic, are here to stay. Touchless payments, including digital wallets, contactless check-ins, and QR codes are examples of health and safety driven measures that we now can’t imagine life without. 

 But, behind the scenes, the changes to travel technology infrastructure will be even more pronounced. Travel-related businesses were slow to invest in technology modernisation before the pandemic and have been caught flat-footed as the infrastructure crumbles because of unprecedented refund and chargeback volumes. So travel companies find themselves in a dual investment scenario – having to invest in improving both their front-end experiences and back-end processes.

 Airlines and online travel agencies (OTAs) have been feverishly updating their tools and processes to allow for more flexible payment options, including installment payments and ‘hold my fare’ options. Canceling and rescheduling flights, once considered expensive options, have become, “the new normal.” But layering these modern technologies atop yesterday’s platforms is a recipe for disaster. Even a quick glance behind the curtain reveals signs of a broken system – disconnected payment operations, inefficient infrastructure, and even several paper and email-based processes.

At Nium, we believe there has to be a better way. The new world of travel deserves a new travel payments platform.

That is why today we announced the acquisition of Ixaris – one of the clear leaders in the B2B travel payments space. In 2019, the company issued more than 10 million virtual cards. 2020 was poised for record totals, but, well, you know .Their technology, combined with ours, creates a new platform for every travel company’s payment needs – from virtual card issuance and payment collection to disbursements and foreign exchange.

In nutshell what does Ixaris do – say you decide to go to Mexico from US for a holiday and you book your holiday via Expedia. You book United Airlines as the flight and Four seasons as the Hotel, once you pay to Expedia the cost of booking, Expedia instantly creates two virtual cards one to pay for the hotel and the other to pay for thr airline. Ixaris provides the tokenization platform for creating of these virtual cards.

 Today’s acquisition will further enable Nium to execute on our vision to provide one API integration to access the world’s payments infrastructure – regardless of vertical. On the Nium platform companies can quickly deploy new financial services – from card issuance to cross-border payments. With licenses in over forty markets and integrations in as little as four weeks, Nium provides the speed and scale for customers to unlock new revenue opportunities and improve cash flow economics throughout the global economy.

 We’re thrilled to welcome Ixaris’ 86 employees and could not be more excited to have these travel payments experts join the Nium family. Travel is heating up, and so is Nium.

We’re going places! Come along for the ride.