Amadeus, Uplift launches BNPL travel payments for USA and Canada

BNPL supplier Uplift has partnered with e-payments processor Amadeus for the travel industry to enhance travel UX for US and Canadian customers.

Amadeus has partnered with travel specialist Uplift to bring BNPL services to the popular Amadeus Xchange Payment Platform (XPP), part of the multi-vendor BNPL ecosystem for travel.

XPP is used by hundreds of airlines and travel companies to power every aspect of their payments, from fraud to payment acceptance. Through the partnership, airlines, travel agencies and hotels can easily add BNPL options to their sales channels through a single connection with Amadeus. Travelers can choose to pay for travel over six, nine or twelve consecutive months.

Tom Botts, Chief Commercial Officer, Uplift said that with travelers choosing the option to pay for their journey, more than two-thirds of Uplift users choose BNPL because it reduces the financial stress of paying over time. BNPL has become a standard mode of payment on the go. Now, travel suppliers who rely on the Amadeus Xchange Payment Platform can add Uplift flexible payments, immediately benefiting from stronger customer loyalty and more bookings.

Amadeus officials said in an official company press release, “BNPL’s growth across all sectors has been impressive and the message from travelers is clear – they want options to pay for their travel. Such payment options will facilitate demand for high-value holidays as travel restrictions are lifted, helping to recover travel.”

Amadeus information on BNPL travel charges

Already familiar to the retail sector, BNPL is particularly well-suited to the travel industry, due to its usual requirement for prepayment at the time of booking. An Amadeus survey of over 5,000 travelers found that 68% would spend more on travel if BNPL options were available and 49% would be more likely to purchase airline ancillary services.

Travel remains a big-ticket item for consumers, especially when planning a family or long-distance trip. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options have emerged in recent years as a way to spread the cost of a purchase over multiple monthly payments and offer travelers more flexibility.

In the year According to an Amadeus study released in August 2022, 75% of respondents were more likely to use buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) to finance trips, while only 44% were more likely to put their spending on a loan. cards, and 26% who are thinking of choosing payday loans.

In addition to BNPL payments, 48% of survey participants are likely to try multi-currency prepaid debit cards to avoid high FX transaction fees when paying abroad, 49% of whom said they are interested in co-branding. Cards that offer loyalty points.