The Ixaris journey began in 2003 when serial entrepreneur, Alex Mifsud, introduced Europe to its first virtual prepaid card. This introduction would revolutionize the payments industry in Europe and change how industries, such as travel, paid and got paid. After more than 17 years of payment innovation, Ixaris joined forces with global payments and card issuing leader, Nium, in 2021 to redefine payment optimization in the travel space while eyeing solutions for new markets, such as insurance.
Together, Nium and the former Ixaris team, are shaping the future of airline payments by providing flexible funding and payment methods; they help airlines and online travel agents (OTAs) in the £230 billion travel sector reduce surcharges, earn rebates, flatten FX fees, and streamline reconciliation. In 2019, and since its inception, it has issued more than 10 million virtual cards and processed 24 million transactions for 200+ customers in 40+ countries for a total payment volume of £5 billion.
Since its integration into Nium, Ixaris has continued its tradition of innovation. The combination of the virtual cards and Nium’s one API integration to access the world’s payments infrastructure enables a broader suite of payment services for both companies’ customers.
Mark Anthony Spiteri, CEO of the Ixaris Group, said, “As part of the Nium family, we can offer the broadest portfolio of virtual card offerings to travel businesses across the globe. All aspects of our company, from our technologies to our people, perfectly complement Nium and we look forward to increasing our geographic footprint to new regions, including the United States and the Asia Pacific.”
Through the Nium platform, customers in a variety of sectors can quickly deploy new financial services from card issuance to cross-border payments. With licenses in over 40 markets and integrations in as little as four weeks, Nium provides the speed and scale for customers to unlock new revenue opportunities and improve cash flow economics throughout the global economy.
“Airlines and OTAs are actively transforming their technologies and processes in anticipation of a surge in global travel happening this year,” said Prajit Nanu, Co-founder and CEO, Nium. “The travel industry has long been dependent on slow-moving, monolithic payment platforms. Our acquisition will serve to replace these incumbents with a modern solution that combines Ixaris’ leading virtual card capability with Nium’s advanced pay-in, pay-out, and embedded foreign exchange capabilities. We welcome the Ixaris team to the Nium family, and together we look forward to helping the travel sector bounce back across the globe.”
To learn more about how Nium helps the travel industry, download the latest travel ebook, or get in touch with a Nium travel expert.
