Travel brands are integrating Partial.ly into their booking systems to let customers pay in smaller chunks over time. Rose Dykins reports
Paying for a holiday in one single splurge can leave a dent in your bank balance, even at the best of times. A helpful solution exists in Partial.ly, a payment plan software company that lets customers choose when they pay, and how much at a time.
“Right now, the travel industry needs more people travelling, but people’s personal finances are one of the things preventing this,” says Benjamin Schmid, chief financial officer of Partial.ly. “We help merchants prevent more attractive options to customers, and help customers pay what they can afford, so it feels like less of a gamble.”
Payment plan apps are starting to become more commonplace within the travel sector, allowing people to spread the cost of their trip over time.
For example, Klarna is used by the likes of Alternative Airlines, Expedia and Hotels.com. It lets customers to pay for their travel in three installments: one third of the amount at checkout, another third in 30 days’ time and the final payment in 60 days’ time.
Partial.ly takes this a step further by allowing the customer greater freedom about how much they pay and when. The software integrates with a brand’s online booking system and offers a few variables to the customer.
“The biggest differentiator between us and other payment plan brands, such as Klarna, is the customer flexibility we offer,” says Schmid. “Generally others only offer three fixed payment options, for example. Also, we’re not a financing payment plan and we don’t check customers’ credit.”
With Partial.ly, each individual customer can choose whether they want to spread their payment over days, weeks or months. They can select how much of an initial down payment they will make. And they can also choose a final payment date.
The software can either be used as a white label product – so it appears as part of a company’s website – or users may be directed to a Partial.ly portal when they make a payment.
While the travel retailer still sets certain parameters and limitations – and can implement fees if they wish – the customer has more control over how much money they spend at once to fund their trip.
“Travel merchants can very easily align their payment methods with Partial.ly, and it is particularly useful for them to set up customer payment so they arrive before at trip or specific tour or event happens,” says Schmid.
Currently, Partial.ly is being used by 500,000 customers across 38 countries – it’s possible to take payments with the software in 135 different currencies. Right now, it’s mostly small, independent travel companies and wellbeing travel sites that are making use of the software, such as You Get To Go, Sweat Reset and Urban Events Global.
“We haven’t yet broken into flights or more typical travel sales yet, but we are looking to do so,” says Schmid. “We have had a variety of travel platforms contact us to try and integrate Partial.ly.”
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