Travel Companies Push for Smoother Payments: Startup Funding Roundup

Travel payments is the theme for this week's startup funding roundup. 

Three of the startups featured this week are focused on simplifying various types of payments for the travel industry.

The most notable is Nium, which makes it easier for travel companies to exchange money between currencies. The travel industry historically has been behind in making the payments experience as smooth as possible. But there’s been a focus in recent years on catching up.

Amadeus has heard from travelers that easy payments are a top expectation for the industry in the next 10 years. 

Five travel tech startups announced over $88 million in fundraises over the last two weeks.

Nium, a business-to-business fintech platform that handles cross-border payments, has raised $50 million in a series E funding. 

The round values the company at $1.4 billion, Nium said. The company has now raised $338 million, according to Crunchbase. 

The latest round was led by an unnamed “sovereign wealth fund” in Southeast Asia, with support from Bond, NewView Capital, and Tribe Capital.

Businesses can use the Nium platform to more easily send and receive money between countries and currencies. For the travel industry — like in the case of a payment from a travel agency to an airline, for example — it means lower fees and quicker payouts. Nium also works with expense management platforms to improve the cross-border reimbursement process.&n