Travelport (NYSE: TVPT), a global travel commerce platform, together with Conferma, a leading FinTech company and provider of virtual card technology, announces today, as part of their global agreement, a collaboration in Australia and New Zealand.

This agreement combines Travelport Smartpoint, a point-of-sale technology, used by corporate travel agencies, and Conferma’s technology for hotel billback using Virtual Card Numbers (VCN) to allow for more automated and streamlined processes for managing payments to hotels on behalf of corporate travellers.

In this phase of the collaboration, this hotel billback solution will allow travel management companies (TMCs) to centrally settle hotel bookings using a Conferma-powered Virtual Card Number issued by a variety of providers which participates in the Conferma network. These may include banks and Travelport’s B-to-B payments business, eNett.

The direct integration into Travelport Smartpoint means that there will be no changes to standard booking and payment workflows. Instead, corporate travel agents will get an enhanced automation system together with all the improved security and reconciliations that the use of virtual cards provides.

NiklasAndréen, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Global Hotel, Car & Digital Media for Travelport, commented: “As awareness of virtual cards continues to grow, Travelport recognises that this collaboration with Conferma will only further extend the capability of Travelport Smartpoint.”

He added, “it gives TMCs in Australia and New Zealand the opportunity to increase efficiency when managing payments to providers, by using virtual cards. It also promotes use of eNett’s services by our customers via the Conferma platform. With this agreement, we look forward to improving the hotel billback solution for our customers in the region.”

Implemention of this system in Australia and New Zealand allows for booking and custom reference data, specific to individual corporations, to be captured at the point-of-sale. TMCs can then provide their clients with better control over expenditure and policy compliance. Such data can also help TMCs to make better-informed decisions when managing suppliers and negotiating rates.

Conferma’s Director of Sales for Asia Pacific, Darren Blair said: “We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Travelport. This will provide TMCs in the Australia/New Zealand region with, not only, increased efficiencies, spend controls, payment security and a seamless traveler experience; it will also prioritise the use of Conferma’s pioneering secure email for communication of booking details. This is the first and only protocol that enables hotels to accept virtual cards, adhering to PCI compliance requirements without relying on the antiquated fax-only transmission method. The Travelport Smartpoint-Conferma end-to-end integration will provide the process automation that TMCs desire with the value of enhanced reporting and security provided by VCNs.”