Travel tech giant Amadeus has purchased payments specialist Voxel to bolster its presence in the sector and “further automate the business travel experience”.
Madrid-based Amadeus has acquired fellow Spanish firm Voxel, which offers digital invoice and B2B payment solutions, for an undisclosed sum.
Amadeus said the Voxel deal would complement its standalone payments business Outpayce, which was launched last year.
“The acquisition of Voxel will also help Amadeus better serve its corporate customers by further automating the business travel experience, from reservation and payments to expense management,” added the company in a statement.
Decius Valmorbida, president of travel at Amadeus, added: “Payments are present at every stage of the travel experience. To make the experience of travel better, it’s crucial we ensure smooth, integrated and even invisible payments.
“We now have a combined team of experts who are passionate about payments, and a breadth of customers who will now be able to leverage the power of Voxel and Amadeus together.”
Voxel, which was founded in 1998 and is based in Barcelona, operates the Bavel pay billing and procurement platform. It works with more than 50,000 hotels and 1,000-plus travel firms. Voxel has more than 200 employees who will now join Amadeus following the acquisition.
Àngel Garrido, CEO of Voxel, added: “Amadeus is truly at the heart of the travel industry, and we couldn’t be more excited to now be part of the team. Amadeus is global in nature, with travel and technology experts working towards a better door-to-door and connected journey.
“These attributes, combined with Amadeus’ deep roots in travel, have resulted in a unique opportunity for Voxel and Amadeus to grow faster, and further embed innovative and automated technology; improving not only the processes for travel sellers but also travel providers.”