SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS - Sabre Corporation together with payment services partner Conferma, announced the North American launch of a pre-funded virtual payment solution for travel buyers, building upon the industry-leading payment and settlement capabilities of Sabre Virtual Payments.
Used by an increasing number of corporations and travel management companies, Sabre Virtual Payments automates the assignment of a unique virtual credit card number to each travel segment. By adding a pre-funded payment option, travel buyers now have the flexibility to fund their own cards and do not need to set up an additional line of credit with their bank.
"Innovation that improves business processes is a priority for corporate travel managers and travel management companies," said Wade Jones, senior vice president of marketing and strategy for Sabre Travel Network. "Adopting virtual cards to automate the payment and reconciliation process saves time, reduces hassle, and cuts costs. And the addition of a pre-funded option to our existing software suite is yet another way to improve the process."
The new pre-funded capability can also be applied to trips that are made by travelers in the GetThere corporate booking solution. Announced in March, the integration of Sabre Virtual Payments with GetThere is an industry-first and will be featured along with the pre-fund option at the upcoming Sabre Connect 2015 customer summit being held June 2-4 in Las Vegas.
Sabre partnered with Conferma, an expert in VCN technology, to develop its industry leading virtual payment solution for corporate travel.
Simon Barker, CEO of Conferma, said, "Over the last 12 months we've seen rapid growth in the adoption of Sabre Virtual Payments across Europe and the Americas as travel agencies and corporations have recognized the significant time and cost benefits. We're delighted to continually grow our partnership with Sabre with the launch of pre-funded virtual payments. This pre-funded solution is ideal for travel agencies as they don't need to set up a credit line with their bank, so they can be up and running within a matter of days."
VCNs provide access to innovative payment technology that reduces costs associated with reconciling travel and payment data, limits fraud exposure by thousands or millions of dollars when compared to ghost or lodge card solutions, and increases travel policy compliance by ensuring that only approved expenses are allowed.
