New Cross-Border Payment Solutions Transform Travel Businesses Across Southern Africa

• Powered by Mastercard, Glyde enables travel businesses to issue single-use virtual cards, control spend, secure supplier payments and simplify reconciliation
• Built on the Mastercard Wholesale Program, it advances more seamless, transparent and secure B2B travel payments across Southern Africa

Mastercard has collaborated with Glyde Payments, a South African B2B payments, digital banking and card platform, to deliver a solution designed to help travel businesses streamline and modernise supplier payments. Powered by the Mastercard Wholesale Program, the solution enables travel businesses to issue a unique virtual card for each booking, allowing travel agencies and intermediaries to securely, efficiently and seamlessly pay suppliers. Glydepay marks the first issuance of Mastercard Wholesale Program card in Southern Africa, representing a significant step forward in the evolution of digital payments in Africa,  enabling the use of Virtual Card Numbers (VCNs) through the Mastercard Wholesale Program , and marking an important milestone in advancing more seamless, secure and transparent B2B travel payments across the region.

With this collaboration, travel agencies and travel management companies in the region can assign a unique payment credential in the form of a Virtual Card Number (VCN) to each booking and supplier transaction. These VCNs provide businesses with greater control over spending parameters, including the amount, merchant and period for which a payment can be used. By enabling more streamlined payment processes and improved transaction visibility, the solution can help simplify reconciliation, support faster settlement and reduce the risk of fraud and chargebacks.

Travel and tourism were forecast to contribute ZAR 659.8 billion to South Africa’s economy in 2025, equivalent to 8.9% of GDP. Against this backdrop, the collaboration between Mastercard and Glyde is designed to help improve payment efficiency across the travel ecosystem by enabling greater working capital flexibility, supporting stronger supplier relationships and facilitating more seamless B2B payment flows. Together, these capabilities can help support continued growth and resilience in one of the region’s most important industries.

Darryl Adriaanzen, country manager, Southern Africa at Mastercard, said: “Travel is one of the most powerful engines of growth across Southern Africa, and the businesses behind every journey deserve payment tools designed for the way they work. We are proud to collaborate with Glyde on this innovative solution, for the travel industry in Southern Africa. By bringing the Mastercard Wholesale Program to the region, we are providing travel companies with a smarter, safer and more transparent way to pay suppliers around the world.”

The Mastercard Wholesale Program is purpose-built for B2B travel payments. It offers one global solution for travel businesses, with more than 400,000 suppliers paid through the programme across multiple countries. It also reflects more than a decade of virtual card innovation for the travel industry. Glyde has built compliance and reporting for international transactions directly into its platform, making cross-border supplier payments simpler and more transparent for businesses in the region. The solution also creates opportunities to better support travel clients with more secure, controlled and transparent cross-border payment capabilities. 

Paulina Klotzbücher, CEO of Glyde Payments, said: “We built Glyde to make payments effortless for the businesses that keep the travel industry moving. Collaborating with Mastercard allows us to combine our travel payments platform with the scale and trust of a global network. Travel companies across Southern Africa can now issue a virtual card for every transaction, with the control, reporting and compliance they have always needed.”

Modernising B2B travel payments is a key priority for Mastercard worldwide. The solution builds on collaborations with travel payment providers in Europe and other markets, extending proven virtual card capabilities to Southern Africa.