Now travel payment can cross borders

Travel agencies across Southern Africa can now use single-use virtual cards to pay international suppliers, giving them greater control over transactions and reducing the administrative burden of cross-border payments.

A new collaboration between Mastercard and South African payments platform Glyde Payments introduces the Mastercard Wholesale Program to Southern Africa for the first time, allowing travel businesses to generate a unique virtual card number for every booking.

The solution, called Glydepay, is aimed at travel agencies, tour operators and travel management companies that regularly make payments to hotels and other suppliers across international borders.

Rather than relying on traditional bank transfers or shared corporate cards, businesses can issue individual virtual cards with specific payment conditions. These include the amount that can be spent, the merchant receiving the payment and the period during which the card remains valid.

The approach gives travel businesses a clearer record of individual transactions, making it easier to match supplier payments to bookings and manage accounts.

It also helps reduce the risk of unauthorised spending, fraud and chargebacks, while potentially speeding up settlement.

The launch comes ahead of the December holiday season, when increased booking volumes place additional pressure on travel businesses and their payment systems.

Darryl Adriaanzen, country manager for Southern Africa at Mastercard, says the collaboration addresses a growing need for more efficient supplier payments.

“Travel is one of the most powerful engines of growth across Southern Africa, and the businesses behind every journey deserve payment tools designed for the way they work.

“By bringing the Mastercard Wholesale Program to the region, we are providing travel companies with a smarter, safer and more transparent way to pay suppliers around the world.”

The Mastercard Wholesale Program is designed specifically for business-to-business travel payments. According to Mastercard, more than 400,000 suppliers across multiple countries are paid through the programme.

Glyde has integrated international transaction compliance and reporting into its platform, allowing travel businesses to manage cross-border payments and associated records through a single system.

The ability to assign a separate virtual card number to each booking is especially useful for travel management companies handling large numbers of reservations across different suppliers and currencies.

It can also improve financial visibility by allowing businesses to track spending at transaction level instead of reconciling payments against multiple booking records.

Paulina Klotzbücher, CEO of Glyde Payments, says the partnership brings international payment capabilities to travel businesses in the region.

“We built Glyde to make payments effortless for the businesses that keep the travel industry moving. Collaborating with Mastercard allows us to combine our travel payments platform with the scale and trust of a global network.

“Travel companies across Southern Africa cannow issue a virtual card for every transaction, with the control, reporting and compliance they have always needed.”

The development comes as tourism continues to play a major role in South Africa’s economy. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, the sector was forecast to contribute R659.8-billion to the economy in 2025, equivalent to 8.9% of GDP.

As travel businesses increasingly manage reservations, customer communications and bookings digitally, supplier payments remain an area where manual processes can create delays and additional administrative work.

The Mastercard and Glyde collaboration extends virtual card payment technology already used in other international markets to Southern Africa, giving regional travel businesses another option for managing the financial transactions behind international journeys.