Mastercard, Glyde Launch Virtual Cards for Travel Payments

In Short: Mastercard And Glyde Virtual Cards For Travel Payments

Mastercard has partnered with South African payment platform Glyde Payments to launch virtual card payments for travel businesses in Southern Africa. The solution targets travel agencies and travel management companies that pay suppliers for bookings.

What Happened: How The Mastercard Wholesale Program Works

The solution is powered by the Mastercard Wholesale Program. It lets a travel business generate a unique Virtual Card Number, also called a VCN, for each booking and supplier transaction.

Mastercard and Glyde say this is the first issuance of a Mastercard Wholesale Program card in Southern Africa.

The platform also allows payment controls for each virtual card. These controls include transaction amounts, eligible merchants, and validity periods.

Mastercard said this should give travel companies greater control over supplier payments. It is also expected to improve transaction visibility and reduce the risk of fraud and chargebacks.

Glyde said it has integrated compliance and reporting capabilities for international transactions into its platform. The goal is to help travel businesses manage cross-border supplier payments with greater transparency.

Why It Matters: Reconciliation, Security, And Supplier Settlements

Mastercard and Glyde are positioning the product as a way to address operational challenges in B2B payments in travel. The companies said it can simplify payment reconciliation and support faster supplier settlements.

Mastercard also pointed to the size of travel in South Africa. The Travel and Tourism sector was forecast to contribute ZAR 659.8 billion, approximately $39.86 billion, to the country’s economy in 2025. Mastercard said this would represent 8.9% of gross domestic product.

Darryl Adriaanzen, country manager, Southern Africa at Mastercard, said, “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.”

Mastercard said the program is designed specifically for B2B travel transactions. It said the program has facilitated payments to more than 400,000 suppliers across multiple countries, and builds on more than a decade of Mastercard’s virtual card work in the travel sector.