‘Today is a day for the history books’ says Ixaris CEO, announcing acquisition by Nium

Ixaris, a Malta-based tech company which helps companies make smarter payment choices, optimising outbound payments for the travel, media and insurance sectors, has announced that it has entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by Nium – one of the world’s fastest-growing B2B payment platforms.

“Back in 2003, a tech startup on the tiny island of Malta issued Europe’s first virtual card. That day cemented Ixaris’ place in the history books of the global industry that we now call fintech. Today is another such day for the history books,” writes Mark Anthony Spiteri, CEO and COO at Ixaris, in a statement announcing the news.

“Every aspect of Ixaris, from our technologies to our people, perfectly complements Nium,” he says of the acquisition, which will see all of Ixaris’ 86 employees in London and Malta joining the Nium family.

“The future of the travel industry, and our ability to drive it forward, looks very bright indeed,” the CEO and COO continues, explaining that Ixaris will augment its virtual card issuance capabilities with Nium’s platform, which provides a single API connection to the world’s payment infrastructure. The result, he says, will be a broader suite of payment services available through Nium, which will also be accessible to Ixaris’ customers.

Going on to thank current and past employees and leadership who have been part of Ixaris’ story over the past 18 years, he adds, “despite the numerous challenges the travel industry has recently faced, we are (justifiably) proud of the success we have achieved as a payment technology leader in the £230 billion travel sector.”

Looking to the future, Mr Spiteri affirms that, as international travel takes off again and the industry ramps up investment in solutions to improve front-end travel experiences and back-end processes, “we are ready to continue to drive its revolution.”