LONDON, UK – 09/10/2025 – (SeaPRwire) – In a groundbreaking move poised to redefine the financial foundations of global tourism, HotelRunner, a leading travel and hospitality technology platform, has announced a strategic global partnership with Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments. This collaboration aims to bridge a long-standing gap in the travel economy: providing seamless, secure, and inclusive financial access for hospitality businesses of all sizes, from boutique hotels and local guesthouses to established global chains.
The partnership signifies more than a simple business alliance—it marks the beginning of a new era where technology, trust, and finance converge to empower millions of travel businesses worldwide. By combining HotelRunner’s extensive digital infrastructure and deep-rooted connections in hospitality with Visa’s unmatched global payments network, the two companies seek to create a next-generation financial ecosystem for the travel and accommodation sector.
For decades, the travel and hospitality industry has been the beating heart of the global economy, yet its financial backbone has lagged behind its digital progress. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, have faced barriers in cross-border transactions, high processing costs, and delayed payments that restrict growth. This partnership directly addresses these challenges by introducing secure, fast, and scalable financial solutions designed for today’s interconnected, always-on travel economy.
“Travel thrives on trust, and trust begins with secure infrastructure,” said Ali Beklen, Founder and Managing Partner at HotelRunner. “Together with Visa, we are not just enabling payments—we are building the autonomous financial infrastructure of global travel. This collaboration will shape how hotels, travel agencies, and tourism businesses transact in the coming decade, ensuring that payments become frictionless, inclusive, and globally connected.”
Arden Agopyan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of HotelRunner, echoed this vision: “For over a decade, HotelRunner has been developing the digital backbone of hospitality, empowering accommodation providers across continents. Yet, many small and independent operators remain disconnected from global financial systems. Our partnership with Visa changes that dynamic. By uniting our reach and technological reliability with Visa’s global payment rails, we are creating a new benchmark for secure and autonomous travel payments.”
The collaboration will focus on solving the “last-mile” challenge in tourism payments—a persistent issue for independent accommodations and travel businesses in emerging markets such as Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Using Visa’s trusted infrastructure and HotelRunner’s advanced connectivity network, businesses in regions from Morocco to Bali will be able to receive cross-border payments faster and with greater transparency than ever before.
According to Tania Platt, Global Head of B2B Travel at Visa, the partnership exemplifies Visa’s commitment to driving innovation in global commerce. “Our collaboration with HotelRunner highlights the power of combining two trusted ecosystems—Visa’s payments network and HotelRunner’s hospitality platform—to enable travel businesses to connect, transact, and expand more efficiently. Together, we are unlocking new growth opportunities, making cross-border trade safer and more accessible, and strengthening the resilience of the global travel economy.”
The timing of this partnership coincides with a significant transformation within the travel industry. Following years of digital acceleration post-pandemic, travel companies are increasingly turning to embedded financial technologies to streamline operations and unlock new revenue streams. With this collaboration, Visa and HotelRunner aim to lead the charge in this transformation by offering autonomous financial tools, embedded payment capabilities, and scalable B2B services that eliminate manual barriers and improve liquidity across the sector.
Beyond payments, the partnership represents a shared vision for financial inclusivity. Many small hospitality businesses in developing regions struggle to access international markets due to fragmented banking systems and inconsistent payment infrastructure. Through this collaboration, Visa and HotelRunner intend to democratize financial participation, enabling even the smallest guesthouse to connect with global travelers, process payments securely, and participate in international commerce.
Operating across Europe, APAC, the Middle East, Africa, and beyond, the Visa–HotelRunner collaboration will engage with leading travel companies, payment providers, and hospitality organizations to integrate cutting-edge solutions into existing digital ecosystems. This effort aims not only to streamline transactions but to establish the financial backbone for the next generation of travel innovation—where payments are embedded, data-driven, and effortless.
As the travel industry continues to rebound and expand, partnerships like this underscore the growing intersection between fintech and hospitality. By uniting technological reliability with financial trust, Visa and HotelRunner are building the infrastructure upon which the future of travel commerce will depend—a future that is borderless, inclusive, and powered by intelligent finance.
About HotelRunner
HotelRunner is a leading travel and hospitality technology platform that connects accommodation providers, online travel agencies, and payment networks through a unified digital ecosystem. Offering advanced solutions for operations, distribution, and financial management, HotelRunner supports businesses in over 200 countries.
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating more than 200 billion transactions annually across more than 200 countries and territories. Its mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable, and secure payment network—enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive.
source https://newsroom.seaprwire.com/technologies/visa-and-hotelrunner-forge-global-alliance-to-build-the-financial-infrastructure-of-the-future-for-the-travel-industry/