Cheadle company in virtual payment deal with Mastercard

FinTech company Conferma has partnered with global payment technology company Mastercard to bring to market an end-to-end virtual payment solution – Conferma Pay.

Tapping in to the £570bn addressable virtual card market, this integrated solution enables the banking world to issue their very own virtual cards with a speedy turnaround and at a low cost.

Cheadle-based Conferma says no other technology provider offers a combined Business-to-Business, and Travel & Expenses solution with an eco-system like Conferma.

Virtual payments solve the security issue of having one card number to use for multiple transactions.

This means that anyone with the number – including a criminal – can use the card to buy things.

So, rather than a fixed number that can be re-used, a virtual card payment is a one-time number for a specific travel event.

This is ideal for travel agents and corporate travel managers who want to protect themselves from fraud and be sure a particular transaction is for approved travel.

This also means that transactions do not need to be manually reconciled post-trip. This saves time and reduces the potential for human error.

Conferma chief executive Simon Barker said: “Innovation is at the heart of our business and is our number one priority.

“We are constantly striving to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in the world of virtual payments.

“The launch of this solution puts us – and Britain – at the forefront of a virtual payment revolution.

“Conferma Pay is just the first innovation-led service to hit the market from Conferma this year.

“There is so much more to come within this space and we are excited about where the journey will take us, particularly with our newly-formed ‘Innovations Team’ leading the way.”

He added: “Adoption of virtual cards is growing at a phenomenal rate, yet there are still too many banks and credit unions missing out on this incredible opportunity.

“The launch of Conferma Pay, powered by Mastercard’s industry-leading platform, makes entry to the virtual card world seamless.

“We shouldn’t lose sight of what this actually means for UK and international businesses.

“The cashless trend and virtual payment sector is set to advance and continue.

“Both SME and large-scale organisations can capitalise on this by utilising Conferma Pay to significantly cut costs and add value to their business.”

Jeff Feuerstein, senior vice president, commercial products and platforms, Mastercard, said: “We are innovators at heart. Our global virtual payment platform adds layers of control, security and enhanced data capture capabilities to meet the needs of our clients.

“Conferma has been a great partner for us and we look forward to continued growth for our issuers and their customers.”

As a British business with strong global connections, Conferma says it has now become a world leader in deep virtual payment integration, with plans to further expand their virtual payment offering this year.

Conferma Pay is now available across the 197 countries in which Conferma operates.