Business Travel Platform TripActions, Airwallex Team

Business travel platform TripActions has tapped Airwallex for cross-border payment support.

The companies said in a news release Thursday (Dec. 14) that Airwallex’s support will benefit TripActions Liquid, the company’s corporate card and expense management solution.

“With support from Airwallex’s global payments and banking infrastructure, TripActions can further streamline travel and expense management experiences for its customers across 130 markets by providing a seamless, cost-efficient way to convert and pay out funds in over 45 currencies,” the release said.

Michael Sindicich, TripActions Liquid’s general manager, said the partnership will let the company reimburse its customers’ international employees in their local currencies instantly or on the same day, depending on the country.

The partnership comes during a time of expansion of TripActions. The company raised $300 million in a Series G funding round in October. This year has seen it acquire three travel management companies, launched TripActions Liquid in Europe, and open offices in Portugal, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

This week also saw Airwallex team with Agoda to help Hong Kong business travelers reserve their accommodations. The companies say their collaboration is designed to address the increased demand for business travel.

“After almost three years of pandemic travel restrictions, many local businesses are eager to start traveling again,” said Arnold Chan, Airwallex’s general manager for Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. “Being able to travel enables companies to keep up with the competition and to identify opportunities for growth.”

In other business travel-related news, this week has seen a boom in hospitality tech companies getting funding in Europe as investors back startups that are digitizing the hotel sector.

Leading the pack this week was Dutch company Mews, which closed a $185 million Series C round Thursday to develop its cloud-based solution for hoteliers and to fuel its global expansion.

In a blog post announcing the raise, the company said the fresh capital will be used to finance its expansion in markets such as the U.S., the U.K., and France to put Mews on par with its 20% market share in its home country, the Netherlands.

Another firm in the hotel management space that has recently captured the attention of investors is U.K.-based Hotel Manager, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup that helps hotel operators manage internal operations. It raised €1 million (about $1.1 million) this week in a seed round led by Fuel Ventures.

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