HBX Group has joined Outpayce, the payments subsidiary of Amadeus, in a strategic partnership to develop its fintech capabilities and modernise how travel buyers and sellers manage digital payments.
As part of the agreement, HBX Group will deploy Outpayce's cloud-native fintech platform to launch a Payment Programme designed to simplify and automate how travel agencies pay hotels, airlines, travel aggregators, and destination service providers. Additionally, Outpayce will serve as HBX Group's strategic virtual card issuing partner.
Platform capabilities and scope
The platform integrates issuing and financial services with travel-specific functionality, including optimised reconciliation and cybersecurity features. Travel partners within the HBX Group network will gain access to virtual cards issued by Outpayce, real-time data insights, and integration with the Outpayce B2B Wallet, alongside a dedicated portal for reporting and settlement.
Both companies have indicated plans to extend the solution to support inbound payment flows, moving towards a fully connected, end-to-end payments ecosystem. HBX Group has adopted the Outpayce B2B Wallet to power its own supplier payment flows, which the company states span billions of euros in annual transactions.
Furthermore, the collaboration reflects broader momentum in B2B travel payments, where manual reconciliation, fragmented settlement processes, and limited payment automation remain persistent operational challenges across the industry.
Commenting on the move, Daniel Nordholm, Chief Information Officer at HBX Group, said the collaboration aims to modernise financial processes, automate at scale, and unlock new efficiencies across the entire travel value chain, adding that the company is already seeing impact across trade partner flows.
Expanding on this, Sam Abdou, CEO of Outpayce, described the deal as a validation of the company's strategy to secure an e-money licence and build a cloud-native issuing stack purpose-built for the travel industry, noting that virtual card issuance is already operational at scale, with pay-in scenarios under development.
