Travel/Leisure: Offer Payment in Several Times

Tour operators: how to offer payment in instalments to your customers?

Over the last two years, health restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have had a strong impact on the activity of travel and leisure professionals. Restricted in their travels, or even confined to their homes, customers have deserted these sectors despite themselves...

Fortunately, the summer of 2022 is shaping up to be a resurgence in travel and tourism activities, as recent industry data attests. After two sluggish years, people will want to get moving this summer more than ever!

As industry professionals, now is the time to take advantage of this growth momentum by making it as easy as possible for your customers to take action with Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions.

Find out how to offer your customers easy payment options, including payment in instalments, to remove disincentives to purchase and increase your conversion rate.

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Why offer payment facilities to its customers?

Payment facilities, also known as "BNPL solutions", allow your customers to make purchases while paying for them at a later date, usually in instalments and without paying interest (although this last point is up to you; feel free to charge your customers). Although originally used mostly for really large purchases (e.g. car purchases), these payment solutions are increasingly being offered for smaller purchases, in order to make it easier for the customer to make the purchase.

Payment in several instalments, deferred payment, shared payment (particularly interesting in the tourism sector, for customers leaving in groups or with their families), or payment adjusted to your needs as a merchant (with payment on due date, or on delivery)... More and more professionals are offering payment facilities to consumers, who also benefit from them!

Indeed, they offer a real added value to buyers, allowing them to better manage their budget, to offer a product or a service more expensive than what they had originally planned, or to be less afraid of future financial surprises.

This is especially true in the travel and leisure sectors, where the average consumer basket is generally high. This is an area that particularly benefits from BNPL solutions.

Benefits of payment facilities for merchants

As travel and leisure professionals, offering BNPL solutions to your customers has many benefits. First and foremost, as the data shows today, offering these types of payment options to your customers will increase your conversion rate, the number of customers you have, as well as their average shopping cart.

In addition, open banking allows you, via payment facilities, to exploit customer data for scoring and thus ensure more easily and reliably the solvency of your consumers.

In addition, certain payment facilities are designed to adapt to the specific constraints of merchants. Seasonality, financial or commercial hazards to anticipate... A very advantageous customization, especially in the travel sector.

As part of the solutions offered by Pledg, you should also know that the services offered are white-label, which allows you to maintain a privileged relationship with your customers, and to remain fully in control of your brand in order to enhance it. In addition, you receive the funds related to your customers' purchases immediately, thus facilitating your cash management while limiting financial risks.

Please note: Still on the subject of Pledg services, be aware that in-store, in-branch or in-call center, you have the option of using a dashboard to send a link to pay in instalments directly to your customer's mobile.

The advantages of payment facilities for customers

Similarly, BNPL solutions can greatly contribute to your customers' satisfaction; many consumers report benefits.

Indeed, it is above all an approach perfectly adapted to the new modes of consumption: a fluid user path, which does not require the creation of a customer account.

Good to know: At Pledg, your customer data is only collected for the purpose of credit analysis. It is not used for marketing or sales purposes.

Consumers who use these payment facilities also say that they allow them to smooth out their spending, especially when paying in instalments. Paying for a purchase in 3 or 4 fixed instalments has less impact on the monthly budget and offers more flexibility (without risking difficult month ends).

Likewise, your customers will appreciate the fact that they do not have to cut into their budget because of a large cash payment, and thus retain their peace of mind in the face of financial contingencies, which will have less potential impact on their overall budget.

How to offer payment facilities to its customers?

The different payment facilities to offer to its customers

As you can see, when it comes to BNPL solutions, there are different types of payment facilities, including :

• Payment in instalments. Your customer can pay between 2 and 12 times in order to smooth his expenses.

• Deferred payment. Your customer can pay for the purchase at a pre-determined future date, usually 15 or 30 days after the sale.

• Shared payment. With family or friends, your customers can pay for their purchases together without paying in advance.

• Adjusted payment. This is a payment facility that meets your specific needs as a merchant. For example, in the travel industry, the adjusted payment can take place 2 days before a flight, or at the end of the stay.

How the payment solutions work

First of all, you should know that the payment facilities mentioned above can be offered through different sales channels, depending on your needs.

Thus, you can offer them:

• online ;
• at physical points of sale (ticket counters, agency counters, etc.);
• by phone...

Payment solutions can be integrated into your business in a variety of ways, depending on the payment facility you are targeting, the CMS you are using, or the technical effort you are willing to put in.

At Pledg, there are different ways to integrate BNPL solutions, including:

• via plug-in ;
• via API ;
• via redirection ;
• via payment link.

Good to know: Whatever your choice, a Tech team will systematically assist you in integrating your payment facilities!

As the 2022 summer season is shaping up to be the long-awaited return to (almost) normal activity for the travel and leisure industry, it's best to do everything you can to take full advantage of the return of demand. Progressive staff recruitment, focus on local tourism (not all borders are fully open yet) as well as on online booking and flexible cancellation conditions... Some key points will undoubtedly allow you to anticipate this summer's rush and optimize your results.

Also, if you want to set up payment facilities perfectly adapted to your customers' needs, don't hesitate to ask for Pledg 's BNPL solutions !