Travel Forward: Flymoney wins start-up pitch competition

Israel firm voted best from among 12 early stage firms

Flymoney Technologies, an Isreali-based provider of money services for travellers, has won the StartUp Pitch Competition at this year’s Travel Forward, sponsored by Amadeus.

It was chosen from a shortlist of three, with attendees at the event voting for the winner after a series of pitches. The shortlist was drawn up by a panel of industry experts from a longlist of twelve which had presented their business as part of their invited presence at the StartUp Pavillion.

Currently cash is king for travellers and FlyMoney is focussing on optimising the existing processes within the cash sector – airport cash desks, home delivery, pre-paid cards and digital wallets to generate revenues for its travel partners and to allow travellers to “pay like a local.”

As part of the prize, Amadeus will provide Flymoney access to its senior executive team through twelve hours of one-to-one mentorship. An individual stand on the main floor for Travel Forward 2020 is part of the winning package.

The other two businesses which made the shortlist were Spanish meetings and events immersive content specialist FirstView which presented its Spazious tool, and Australian hospitality tech for on-property upsells and servicing, Reva Hospitality, which has a portfolio of revenue-generating products for hotels.

Evantia Giumba from Amadeus’ StartUp programme said: “It was a tough call between three very strong startups, all of which sit with our goal of using tech to improve the experience for travellers. Flymoney can remove one of the main stressors from the trip and contribute to a seamless journey.”

Richard Gayle, Senior Director, Travel Forward, added: “Every business was a startup once and we have actively engaged the global travel startup community as part of our commitment to the ecosystem.

“Startups and the established businesses can learn from each other and we’re glad that the Startup Pitch Competition is helping to build new relationships and foster partnerships.

“Travel technology has a vast reach, and it’s exciting for Travel Forward to be leading an industry which never stands still.”