Nium, a platform focused on real-time payments, has announced an expansion of its B2B travel payment solutions in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. This expansion aligns with the growing demand for its virtual credit card offering on a global scale, mostly by travel intermediaries and operators who use Nium’s virtual card solution to streamline payments to suppliers worldwide.
This shift enables Nium’s clientele to benefit from improved working capital, reduced foreign exchange fees, higher acceptance rates, faster reconciliation, reduced fraud risks, and enhanced protection against refunds.
As part of its expansion strategy, Nium is introducing a combination of domestic issuing and funding capabilities in key APAC markets, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and Japan. This move is poised to serve both new and existing customers in the region, supplementing the 20+ currencies already supported by Nium’s virtual card solution in Europe and North America.
Notable businesses like Connexus Travel, a corporate travel management specialist, and Convergent, a global hotel B2B platform, are among the first to leverage Nium’s local funding and issuing capabilities in Hong Kong.
Nium’s expansion comes as the APAC tourism sector shows signs of recovery following the global pandemic. Projections indicate that the total travel market in APAC will reach $490 billion by 2025, marking a 10% increase from its 2019 value and reclaiming its position as the world’s largest regional travel market.
Anupam Pahuja, Executive Vice President and General Manager of APAC, Middle East, and Africa at Nium, emphasised the importance of this expansion: “In order to capitalize on the exciting growth opportunity at hand, travel businesses need more control, transparency, and insight into the way they make payments around the world. This expansion enables us to deliver just that, at a time when our customers need it most.”
It’s worth noting that Nium powers some of the largest online travel agencies, payment providers, airlines, and hotels globally, including Love Holidays and Sabre Virtual Payments. Over the past year, Nium has issued more than 30 million virtual cards and quadrupled its B2B travel revenue since 2021.
Spencer Hanlon, Global Head of Travel Payments at Nium, acknowledged the transformation that is needed in the travel industry’s payment systems: “Travel is a dynamic industry that can enable humans to defy gravity, yet its payment systems remain earthbound. Razor-thin profit margins, tighter regulation, and changing consumer preferences mean online travel agents and intermediaries are increasingly demanding more flexible, secure, and cost-effective ways to pay their suppliers located around the world.”
In addition to its virtual credit card solution, Nium offers a closed-loop payments solution for airlines and facilitates real-time cross-border collections and payouts to bank accounts, digital wallets, and cards in over 100 currencies for global businesses, fintechs, and financial institutions.
Co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, Nium’s payout network spans 190+ countries and supports 100 currencies, with funds disbursed to accounts, wallets, and cards. Nium holds regulatory licenses and authorizations in more than 40 countries, facilitating seamless onboarding, rapid integration, and compliance.
