Allianz Trade extends credit insurance to B2B travel payments via Mastercard

Allianz Trade is enhancing protection for business-to-business payment flows in the travel industry by extending trade credit insurance to issuers utilizing Mastercard Virtual Card Numbers (VCN). This initiative aims to bolster security and mitigate payment risks for travel sector transactions.

The global nature of the B2B travel industry necessitates a secure payment infrastructure for transactions between intermediaries, payment facilitators, and travel suppliers. Historically, VCN issuers in this sector faced challenges extending credit terms to online travel agencies (OTAs), often requiring upfront payments. This created cash flow mismatches for OTAs, limiting their growth and impacting issuer business.

Through the Allianz Trade pay solution, Mastercard VCN issuers can now more confidently offer credit terms to OTAs. In instances where an OTA defaults on payments, Allianz Trade will manage the collection process and indemnify the issuer. The system leverages actuary.aero's data intelligence for real-time risk assessment, enabling underwriting directly within the payment flow.

"Our global intelligence network and deep expertise in the travel sector position us to assess non-payment risk and provide issuers with the confidence to grow," stated François Burtin, Global Head of e-commerce at Allianz Trade. "Allianz Trade pay allows us to extend this expertise directly to Mastercard VCN Issuers, providing risk underwriting in real-time at the transaction level."

The collaboration is expected to streamline the entire value chain in business travel payments. OTAs will receive immediate feedback on credit requests, while issuers can benefit from improved customer retention, capital efficiency, and expanded business opportunities due to safer, scalable transaction volumes.