Amadeus launches buy now pay later partnerships
Travel remains a big-ticket item for consumers and especially so when planning a family or long-haul trip.
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) options have emerged over recent years as a way to spread the cost of a purchase across several monthly payments, delivering additional flexibility for travellers.
That’s why Amadeus is partnering with two travel specialists, Uplift and Fly Now Pay Later, to bring BNPL services to its popular Amadeus Xchange Payment Platform (XPP), as part of a multi-provider BNPL ecosystem dedicated to travel.
XPP is used by hundreds of airlines and travel companies to power every aspect of their payments, from fraud prevention to payment acceptance.
Now, airlines, travel agencies and hotels can easily add BNPL options to their sales channels via a single connection to Amadeus – making ‘Fly Now Pay Later’ and ‘Uplift’ BNPL options more easily available to travellers across the industry.
Travellers can choose to pay for travel in a series of instalments over six, nine or twelve months.
Already common to the retail sector, BNPL is particularly well suited to the travel industry due to the common requirement for upfront payments at the time of booking.
Amdeus research with more than 5,000 travellers suggests 68 per cent would spend more on travel if BNPL options were available, with 49 per cent confirming they would be more likely to buy airline ancillary services.
Beatrice Bouju, Head of Partnerships, Payments, Amadeus said: “The growth of BNPL across all sectors has been remarkable and the message from travellers is clear – they want the choice to pay for the trip in instalments.
“Such payment options will help travel’s recovery by facilitating pent-up demand for higher value holidays as travel restrictions are lifted.”
She continued: “Our vision for the Amadeus Xchange Payment Platform is a one-stop-shop for travel companies to access the latest in fintech innovation, so adding BNPL services from two travel specialists to the mix was an easy choice.”
Amadeus XPP helps travel companies access the latest fintech innovations to improve the payment experience for travellers.