Know How Indian Travellers Can Use Buy Now Pay Later
- Lifestyle Travel
Mridula Chakraborty- 0
- 5 minutes read
Indian travellers can now access an EMI scheme that allows them to buy now pay later. Such a scheme was rolled out in line with the fact that the travel restrictions concerning the Covid-19 pandemic have been eased recently. Therefore, a lot more people are wanting to travel to different locations and this is why many travel companies are trying to take advantage of it. Thus, ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ schemes have come into existence by organisations like Yatra.com and MakeMyTrip.
What Is The Buy Now Pay Later Scheme?
The Buy Now Pay Later travel scheme allows travellers to sign in and pay for a travel plan through a travel website or a loan provider. In this case, they need to pay the full amount in EMIs until they repay the entire amount along with interest. These payments can be made through AutoPay facilities for which you need to provide bank or debit card details. The interest rates would be based on your travel plan or the company you are opting for.
Himank Tripathi, an Industry Expert, talked about the topic to FE travel and said that:
“The travel industry is witnessing a fast-paced growth as the travel sentiments are very positive where people are keen to travel to their favourite destination without any delay. This is where BNPL(BuyNowPayLater) has emerged as a new trend showing a growth of more than 25% compared to last year. All the key airlines, OTAs and banks have come forward with their aggressive plans in that direction. Mostly driven by International travel, newlyweds and small families are driving this BNPL phenomenon. Furthermore, this BNPL will continue to grow as the outbound traffic from India will surpass $42 Billion in the next two years.”
According to data by Yatra.com, it saw an increase in enquiries for travel loans on air travel by 25% to 27% compared to the previous quarter. The average size of such loans ranges between ₹14,000 and ₹15,000, however, travellers can avail of a loan of up to ₹60,000 to ₹70,000 for international trips. The company spokesperson, quoted by FE travel, said that:
“We are optimistic that this emerging trend of travel loans will encourage people to step out and fulfil their travel bucket lists while providing a significant boost to the industry.”
In addition, MakeMyTrip has also seen a rise in the use of the Buy Now Pay Later travel scheme as a payment option in recent years. TripMoney, which is a Fintech subsidiary of MakeMyTrip, has witnessed a 4X growth in the BNPL scheme section in the past two years. A representative of the company said:
“Our BNPL facility starts from ₹500 – wherein 75% of the users opt for no cost short term credit (up to a tenure of three months) while the rest prefer a longer tenure. To power our BNPL offering, we work with leading banks and NBFCs including HDFC, IDFC, Capital float, and Kissht amongst others.”
Indian travel experience has surely been elevated due to the incorporation of the BNPL scheme in it. In addition, we can also expect alterations in the working of the industry as this payment option gains further popularity.
