BNPL provider raise has announced a partnership with an e-payment processor for the travel industry amadeus to increase the in-travel UX for customers in the US and Canada.
Amadeus is partnering with travel specialist Uplift to bring BNPL services to its popular Amadeus Xchange Payment Platform (XPP) as part of a multi-vendor travel BNPL ecosystem.
XPP is used by hundreds of airlines and travel companies to power every aspect of their payments, from fraud prevention to payment acceptance. The partnership will enable airlines, travel agents and hotels to easily add BNPL options to their distribution channels through a single connection to Amadeus – making ‘uplift’ BNPL options more easily available to travelers in the US and Canada. Travelers can choose to pay for their trip in multiple installments over six, nine, or twelve months.
Tom Botts, Uplift’s Chief Commercial Officer, explained that travelers increasingly prefer the option of paying for a trip in installments. More than two-thirds of Uplift users chose BNPL because it reduces the financial stress of paying over time rather than all at once. BNPL has become a standard payment method for travel. Now, travel suppliers that rely on the Amadeus Xchange payments platform can add Uplift’s flexible payments and instantly benefit from stronger customer retention and more bookings.
Amadeus officials have stated in the company’s official press release that “BNPL’s growth has been remarkable across all sectors and the message to travelers is clear – they want the ability to pay for travel in installments. Such payment options will help travel recover by easing pent-up demand for higher-value travel when travel restrictions are lifted.’
Amadeus data on BNPL travel payments
BNPL is already common in retail, but is particularly well suited to the travel industry, as prepayments are often required at the time of booking. Amadeus research of more than 5,000 travelers suggests that 68% would spend more on travel if BNPL options were available, with 49% confirming they would be more likely to use airline ancillary services.
Travel remains an important issue for consumers, especially when planning a family or long-distance trip. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options have emerged in recent years to spread the cost of a purchase across multiple monthly payments and give travelers additional flexibility.
According to an Amadeus study published in August 2022, 75% of respondents are more likely to opt for Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) plans to finance travel, compared to just 44% who are more likely to spend on their credit cards and 26% opting for payday loans.
Aside from BNPL payments, 48% of survey respondents said they would rather try prepaid debit cards with space for multiple currencies to avoid high FX trading fees when making payments abroad, while 49% of them expressed interest in co-branded cards, provide loyalty points.
