The future of business travel payments is going digital — and fast
How Visa and the travel industry are reshaping B2B payments for a more seamless global experience
The future of business travel payments is going digital — and fast
How Visa and the travel industry are reshaping B2B payments for a more seamless global experience
The video “Unpacking the future of money in motion, B2B travel payments with Visa’s Jay Patel” argues that business-to-business (B2B) travel payments are undergoing a major transformation driven by technologies like virtual cards, open banking and real-time settlement.
The interview explains how these innovations can simplify financial flows for travel companies — but also highlights the fragmented adoption and regulatory challenges across regions. It frames this shift as part of a broader push toward a travel ecosystem where transactions happen behind the scenes, enabling smoother operations for travel businesses and better experiences for travellers.
Key takeaways
- Virtual cards remain the immediate growth driver: Virtual cards continue to offer the largest near-term opportunity in B2B travel payments, especially for independent property owners and property management companies.
- Open banking has potential — if global standards emerge: While open banking could reshape payments more fundamentally, its benefits are currently concentrated in Europe; scalable global adoption will require broader regulatory alignment and enhanced security protections.
- Regional growth is skewed toward Asia-Pacific and emerging markets: Post-pandemic rebound in regions like Asia Pacific, combined with substantial fintech and travel-tech investments in emerging economies, is driving the fastest growth in B2B travel payments.
- Fraud and security evolve alongside payment innovations: As virtual cards become more common, fraudsters increasingly exploit vulnerabilities — for example by creating fake properties — prompting payment networks to develop advanced tools (like “Supply Validation”) that leverage transaction and merchant data to verify legitimacy.
- The next 5–10 years will focus on frictionless, integrated travel payments: The vision laid out includes payments that “just happen,” enabled by consolidated digital IDs, unified loyalty systems, real-time settlement, and AI-driven personalization for travellers.
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