How Otelz Tripled ‘Pay Now’ Uptake with Nium Virtual Cards.
'Pay Now' ratio more than tripled since 2022
More than doubled payment volumes with Nium year-on-year
Expanded merchant bookings to over 22 countries with local funding and issuing
The Challenge
Since it was founded in 2014, Otelz has rapidly established itself as one of Turkey’s leading OTAs. Facing stiff competition from both local and international players with more established infrastructure, Otelz needed a faster, more flexible way to manage payments to its hotel partners and maintain growth.
Traditional bank transfers, the standard industry approach, were too slow and impeded the business’ ability to scale and efficiently handle increasing transaction volumes.
The company needed a more robust and scalable solution which could support its rapid growth, whilst helping to solidify its position as a leader in the region’s travel market.
The Solution
After evaluating several options, Otelz selected Nium’s virtual card solution to increase payment volumes, enhance efficiency, and offer more choice and flexibility to its suppliers.
We helped Otelz to expand and enhance its virtual card offering with both Visa and Mastercard, enabling Otelz to access a wider range of interchange levels and drive better payment acceptance rates among its merchants.
Nium also introduced new virtual card features to Otelz like the ability to set specific transaction limits, access real-time payment tracking, and create automated accounting reports to enhance payment visibility and control.
After the demo, we quickly realized that Nium’s virtual card solution was the best fit for us. The payment optimization features far exceeded our expectations of what’s possible with virtual cards.
– İbrahim Bakış, Chief Product Officer, Otelz
The Results
Powered by Nium Virtual Cards, Otelz was able to:
- More than triple ‘Pay Now’ uptake: Facilitated by Nium issued virtual cards, Otelz was able to transition from a ‘Pay at Hotel’ to a ‘Pay Now’ model, generating a uptake from 15% in 2022 to 48% in 2024
- Drive steady and consistent growth: Otelz more than doubled its payment volumes with Nium YoY, reporting a 54% increase over the same 6 month period between 2023 and 2024
- Quickly ramp up payment volumes: Over one 8-month period, Otelz tripled its payment volumes with Nium virtual cards by 197%
- Increase acceptance: Otelz was able to support merchant acceptance in over 22 countries with Nium’s local funding and issuing capabilities on a global scale
Looking Ahead
Otelz’s partnership with Nium is central to its ambitious growth plans. As the company grows by at least 100% year-on-year, it aims to expand its market share, particularly in Turkey and the broader MENA region, collaborating with B2B partners to expand its reach.
Otelz plans to continue leveraging virtual cards for smoother transactions with the potential to expand into Nium’s other real-time payment solutions on its global account-to-account network spanning 190+ countries and 100+ currencies.
The partnership with Nium is invaluable for us. Their strong global presence and customer support are second-to-none, empowering us to grow our business now and in the future. Even when transaction volumes may decrease, they never abandon us and always strive to offer better solutions.
– İbrahim Bakış, Chief Product Officer, Otelz
Looking forward, Otelz sees Nium as a strategic partner in its expansions, ready to explore additional innovative features and solutions to drive sustainable, long-term growth.
Meet Otelz
Otelz is a leading online travel agency founded in Turkey in 2014. With a portfolio of 21,000 hotels in the country and more than 650,000+ hotels worldwide, it has become one of Turkey’s most popular hotel booking sites. As the company expands globally, Otelz's mission is to connect travelers from around the world with the best hotel options at the most affordable prices.
Travel & Tourism
Turkey & MENA
100-200 employees
Virtual cards