WEX and Sabre partner to enhance global travel payments with virtual card solutions

WEX today announced that it has selected Sabre Direct Pay, a division of Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), a leading global travel technology company, as part of a strategic global partnership to enhance payment solutions for travel agencies and other travel intermediaries. Through this collaboration, Sabre Direct Pay customers will gain access to WEX’s virtual card technology, enabling a more secure and efficient payment process for travel-related purchases.

Sabre Direct Pay is Sabre’s dedicated travel payments hub, designed to help agencies and travel service providers streamline transactions through secure, virtual card technology. This partnership with WEX – which currently works with eight of the top ten online travel agencies worldwide – will pave the way for a more seamless travel experience for travellers and accommodation partners on a global scale by simplifying transactions across multiple currencies, borders and time zones.

“WEX’s partnership with Sabre is driven by the need to equip travel suppliers and agencies worldwide with industry-leading virtual payment capabilities, so that they can continue to meet demand in this fast-evolving travel landscape” said Jason Hancock, GM & VP of Global Travel. “Payment efficiency and security are more critical than ever. By integrating WEX virtual cards into the Sabre ecosystem, we are empowering customers with flexible, scalable, and reliable payment solutions that drive business growth.”

With over 40 years of deep knowledge of the travel industry, WEX currently works with eight of the top ten online travel agencies worldwide, bringing deep experience to help Sabre connect with and pay suppliers on a global scale. Additionally, with the integration of WEX’s virtual card technology, OTAs, Travel Management Companies, and other travel intermediaries utilizing Sabre Direct Pay will benefit from:

• Better Payments: Virtual cards enable faster payments, improving cash flow and strengthening supplier relationships. Additionally, WEX virtual cards can be issued to customers and suppliers in 210 countries and across 20 currencies, avoiding FX and conversion expenses and enabling faster payments and improving overall cash flow.
• Better Data: Virtual card payments add rich metadata to each transaction, following the payment from card creation through to posting and reconciliation. This allows OTAs to “auto-reconcile” most payments while gaining access to valuable data.
• Better Security: Virtual card numbers allow users to set specific parameters for each transaction, simplifying the chargeback process. WEX’s expertise ensures fast and reliable chargebacks, typically recovering 100% of in-scope chargebacks within weeks.
• Better Fraud Detection: With virtual cards, OTAs can create a single payment per reservation as well as enter a specified amount, merchant category, and date, decreasing vulnerability to fraud.

“WEX’s decision to work with Sabre Direct Pay reflects a broader shift we’re seeing across the industry — a move towards integrated, virtual payment solutions that are purpose-built for travel,” said Patricio Boccardo, Managing Director of Sabre Direct Pay. “As more leading providers seek partners that understand the complexities of global travel payments, we are proud to offer the scale, reach and expertise needed to support that transformation.”

WEX pioneered virtual payment solutions by building one of the first virtual card programs for travel in 2000. Today, WEX is a leader in travel and corporate payment solutions, with its Corporate Payments segment processing approximately $138 billion in total volume in 2024 – which includes purchases on WEX-issued accounts as well as purchases issued by others, but using a WEX platform – and yielding approximately $488 million in 2024 revenue. 

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