Australian fintech Mint Payments has entered the UK market through a strategic partnership agreement with The Travel Network Group, one of Britain’s largest independent travel agency network consortiums, a network with more than 1,100 members and affiliates for Mint to support.
The deal will see Mint power payment functions for The Travel Network Group’s new platform, Vision, marking the first major international expansion outside of the Asia-Pacific region for the 17-year-old Australian travel fintech, which processes more than $3.5 billion in transactions annually for over 2,000 merchants.
The UK represents a significant market opportunity for Mint, with more than 4,500 travel agencies processing an estimated $154 billion in consumer and business-to-business payments annually, a market four times larger than Australia.
Alex Teoh, CEO of Mint Payments, said, “The UK was the logical first step for international expansion. Travel agents there face the same payment workflow challenges we’ve solved in Australia. Fragmented systems, poor support, and products not built for how they actually operate. We know this industry, the regulatory environment and we know how to improve it.”
“The UK travel market still has most of its market share held by incumbent banks who do not understand the intricate requirements of the travel industry and have not provided innovative, cost-effective solutions to help travel businesses grow. This represents a significant opportunity for Mint,” added Teoh.
The move into the UK comes as the company aims to become a leading global travel payments provider, leveraging deep sector expertise built in the Australian market to address the complexity of travel commerce worldwide.
Gary Lewis, The Travel Network Group CEO added, “We are committed to giving our members technology that supports their businesses, and payments are a critical part of that journey.
“Mint’s expertise in the travel industry, combined with their innovative tools like Mint Protect and a dedicated support team based in the UK makes them the right partner to provide our Members with secure, efficient, and future-ready payment solutions.”
Through the partnership, The Travel Network Group member agencies will gain real-time visibility of customer and supplier payments, with automated reconciliation designed to reduce administrative burden.
Mint’s offers competitive rates tailored to travel businesses and Mint Protect, a proprietary industry first safeguard solution for travel businesses that provides protection against card chargebacks relating to fraud, supplier failure, supplier non-delivery and travel disruption.
The company has recently established a UK-based team to service The Travel Network Group members and future clients in the region. The partnership commenced immediately, with The Travel Network Group’s Vision platform launching to members in November.
