Sabre, a US-based travel technology provider, has purchased British payments company Conferma Pay for an undisclosed amount.

Established in 2005 by Simon and Jim Barker, Conferma Pay currently enables issuers to communicate with over 700 travel management firms as well as key global distribution network and more than 100 online booking platforms.

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The latest deal is expected to expedite B2B payments in the travel industry.

Citing a letter sent by Conferma Pay acting CEO and ex-Sabre EMEA senior vice president Martin Cowley, Business Travel News (BTN) Europe stated that Cowley sees payments in the travel sector as something which is going through a revolutionary phase.

Cowley added: “Having partnered for many years, both Sabre and Conferma Pay acknowledge the changing landscape and the need for significant technology investment in the B2B payment space.

“This is why Sabre will be acquiring Conferma Pay to help it advance virtual card payments in travel and lay the foundations to develop technologies that enable the future B2B travel payments.”

“By combining the travel industry expertise of Sabre and the payment expertise of Conferma Pay, we believe we can continue to offer a strong value proposition for travel agencies.”  

Cowley further noted that the latest deal will help both the companies to combine their capabilities and technologies to create improved payment solutions that are expected to provide new options to increase sales in the B2B travel sector.

Confirming the acquisition, a spokesperson from Sabre said: “On 3 August 2022, Sabre acquired U.K. fintech company Conferma Pay.

“Sabre has had a successful partnership with Conferma Pay for many years, and Conferma Pay is the basis upon which its Sabre Virtual Payments proposition is built. 

“We believe we are now well-positioned to expand on that proposition with Conferma Pay becoming a Sabre-owned entity.”

In 2011, Conferma Pay began its collaboration with Sabre as part of the launch of its Virtual Payments for hotel settlement.

In 2020, the company reached an agreement to provide access to Visa cards on travellers’ mobile wallets, while a year after, it formed an alliance with Boost Payment Solutions to accelerate supplier payments with virtual cards.