Singapore’s Nium has now completed its acquisition of business-to-business travel payments platform Ixaris, and its U.S. expansion is on track. Irish American startup Stripe meanwhile has teamed up with TripActions to grow in Europe. Airlines and passengers have reached some middle ground when it comes to refund policies around last-minute cancellations — after all, they’ve had nearly two years of practice — but as travel had significantly ramped back up, large volumes of calls will now impact call centers and cause more payment headaches. Meanwhile, global payments platform Stripe has partnered with corporate travel agency TripActions to launch its expense management product Liquid in Europe.
TripActions is promoting its smart card with built-in policies and issuance in multiple currencies. The agency claimed it has created a “superapp” as the platform combines travel, a corporate card, and an expense management solution in one go. Its other fintech partners include Visa, Modern Treasury and Plaid. The worlds of finance and tourism continue to merge and following U.S. Bancorp’s acquisition of TravelBank and Capital One’s own investments in booking platforms, expect the embattled travel sector to further pique their interest.