Clara has become an issuer of the Mastercard Wholesale Program (MWP) in Brazil and Mexico, integrating it with its Clara TravelPay offering.
The MWP uses virtual cards to automate B2B within the travel sector. Under the model, travel agencies and tour operators pay hotels, airlines, and other suppliers with single-use credentials assigned separately to each supplier, an approach intended to simplify reconciliation. Mastercard introduced the programme in Brazil two months before the announcement, with Citi as its first issuer, making Clara a subsequent addition to the issuer base in the country.
Integration with Clara TravelPay
Clara already operated its own payments solution for the travel vertical, Clara TravelPay, which it launched in 2025. The offering serves more than 800 client agencies and has processed over four million transactions. MWP is now being integrated into TravelPay, and Clara's travel clients are set to begin migrating to the Mastercard programme from November 2026. According to the company, the integration process, including certification, took approximately six months.
Clara points to acceptance as the main advantage of the move. The programme connects more than 400,000 suppliers across over 200 countries. Francisco Simon, general manager of Clara in Brazil, highlighted that MWP is also present on the side of major travel providers, which makes acceptance a central consideration. Simon described travel as a highly intermediated industry in which information needs to flow in multiple directions, creating a substantial need for reconciliation.
Clara also plans to bring the offering to Colombia, the third country in which it operates.
Fleet management partnership
The travel announcement follows a separate, recently concluded partnership between Clara and Mastercard focused on fleet management. The fintech issues a Mastercard card that is accepted at any fuel station and runs on a postpaid model, in contrast to the prepaid model commonly used in the segment. Clara states that the open arrangement can deliver fuel savings of up to 20%, with an estimated average reduction of 10%. One week after launch, 100 companies were using the card, while a further 200 were on a waiting list. The product is authorised by the country’s tax authority (SAT). It consolidates fuel transactions into a single monthly CFDI 4.0 invoice and lets administrators set spending limits by time, amount, fuel type, and vehicle. It works at approximately 99% of fuel stations.
