Mastercard and INFINIOS Renew Partnership to Scale B2B Travel Payments Across MENA

Mastercard has extended its multi-year partnership with Bahraini fintech INFINIOS to scale digital B2B travel payments across the Middle East and North Africa. For fintech professionals, this represents a significant push to replace manual settlement processes with virtual cards in a regional travel market projected to exceed $100 billion by 2028.

What was announced

Mastercard and INFINIOS have renewed a multi-year strategic agreement aimed at accelerating the digital transformation of business-to-business (B2B) travel payments across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The core of this collaboration is the commercialization and scaling of the Mastercard Wholesale Program (MWP), a solution designed specifically for the complex travel ecosystem.

The MWP utilizes virtual card-based technology to digitize payment flows between travel buyers, such as agencies, and suppliers, including hotels and airlines. By moving away from manual processes, the program aims to provide merchants with enhanced automation, transparency, and security. It also addresses critical operational needs like improved liquidity and flexibility for intermediaries. The collaboration between the two firms originally began in the MENA region in 2023 with the initial introduction of the program.

The timing of this renewal coincides with a period of rapid growth in the regional travel market. Online travel bookings in MENA saw a 63% increase in 2025 compared to the previous year. Furthermore, bookings through travel intermediaries in these markets are forecasted to surpass $100 billion by 2028. This partnership seeks to capture that volume by replacing legacy settlement methods with digital alternatives that can better handle the scale of modern travel demand.

"The future of travel payments is digital and borderless, and our renewed collaboration with Mastercard accelerates that reality. As a pioneer of Virtual Corporate Cards (VCCs) in the region, INFINIOS’ ambition has been to enable faster, more transparent, and automated B2B transactions, empowering global businesses to scale with confidence. We continue to unlock liquidity across the ecosystem, and this milestone marks another significant step toward reshaping the future of the industry,"

Sherif Abdelsalam, CEO, INFINIOS.

The companies involved

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, and governments across more than 210 countries and territories. With over 1,000 previous reports on FF News, the company’s influence on global transaction standards is well-documented. In the Middle East, its operations are overseen by executives including Saud Swar, who serves as Senior Vice President for KSA, Bahrain, Jordan and Other Levant.

INFINIOS is a Bahrain-based fintech firm that has positioned itself as a specialist in digital payment infrastructure. The company is recognized as a pioneer of Virtual Corporate Cards (VCCs) within the Middle East and North Africa region. Its focus lies in enabling automated B2B transactions and unlocking liquidity for global businesses. While a newer name in the FF News archive, its collaboration with Mastercard, which began in 2023, highlights its role as a key regional enabler for the Mastercard Wholesale Program. The firm's leadership is headed by CEO Sherif Abdelsalam.

What FF News has reported before

Mastercard has been active in expanding its digital payment footprint globally through diverse partnerships. FF News recently covered how Sunrate Debuts Agentic Card to Power AI-Driven Business Payments via Mastercard Network. In the MENA region specifically, the company has been deepening ties with local institutions, as seen when Mastercard and EBank Expand Strategic Partnership to Drive Digital Payment Growth in Egypt. Beyond regional partnerships, the network is exploring advanced payment logic, recently reported in Tencent signs Mastercard MoU on agentic payments, days after a similar Visa deal. Additionally, the firm has focused on ecosystem security, such as when Mastercard Launches Free Cybersecurity Platform to Boost Digital Confidence for Europe’s Small Businesses.

What this means

The travel industry has long been a holdout for manual, high-friction B2B settlement, but this agreement signals that the MENA region is no longer content with legacy systems. By doubling down on the Mastercard Wholesale Program, both companies are putting pressure on traditional banking providers who have been slow to offer integrated virtual card solutions for high-volume travel intermediaries. The move highlights a broader industry shift where liquidity management is becoming as important as the transaction itself. The key question for the sector remains whether these digital-first programs can scale fast enough to keep pace with the projected $100 billion intermediary market while maintaining the security required for cross-border flows.