Through a partnership with Worldline, fintech Fly Now Pay Later will begin offering merchants using Worldline TravelHub their Buy Now, Pay Later product. Merchants wishing to offer the solution will need to add a button to their checkout page and sign a contract with Fly Now Pay Later. The solution will be available for residents in the U.S., UK, and Germany, and will allow for multiple installment plan options for up to 12 months.
Damien Cramer, Global Head of Airlines and Travel at Worldline said: “We’re excited to ensure that travel merchants can now benefit from the growing popularity of the Buy Now Pay Later phenomenon. Ultimately, through this service, merchants are well placed to gain additional customers attracted by the ability to spread the load of their holiday expenditure, while still enjoying the security of receiving a single up-front payment from the BNPL provider.”
According to a travel study by Deloitte, Americans will take an average of two trips during the holiday season of Thanksgiving to New Year’s. The same study found that 29% of travelers plan to fly domestic (+2% from 2021) and 17% plan to fly international (+7% from 2021). For those not traveling, the study found that the top reason was due to financial concerns.
Consumers will certainly benefit from immediate access to credit in the short-term, but the long-term remains unclear. Fly Now, Pay Later provides travelers with more options for financing, which may be especially helpful during the stress of the holiday season and ongoing pressures caused by macroeconomic conditions. But when it comes time to pay, will consumers be able to pay back the money owed?
Travel is an area where credit cards generally excel for their rewards potential and bonuses. For merchants, BNPL reportedly increases chances of conversion at checkout, and is said to increase overall spending on the trip, but this comes at a higher cost than credit or debit card fees.
We will continue to watch the evolving BNPL market and will certainly look at the data after the holiday season. Now I’m off to pack my luggage for my own holiday flight.
Overview by Ben Danner, Research Analyst at Mercator Advisory Group.
