Travel disruptor Fly Now Pay Later secures £35m in Series A funding round

A UK fintech that offers customers staggered payments on the cost of their holidays has secured £35m in a Series A funding round, as investors back a disruptor competing in the travel industry battered by Covid-19.

The funding comes amid a devastated tourism industry which has been hit hard by coronavirus with airlines and travel operators cutting thousands of jobs.

Fly Now Pay Later, founded in 2015, offers customers the option of flexible monthly payments of a period up to 12 months via travel brands including lastminute.com and TravelUp.

The service can be used to book flights, hotels, car hire and insurance and is offered from as low as zero percent APR, the company says. 

The equity and debt investment was led by asset management firm Revenio Capital, along with investment from Shawbrook Bank and BCI Finance.

Fly Now  Pay Later, which employs 70 staff in the UK, will use the funds to support its product offering in the UK, including developing its technology to help smooth payments, as well as helping support the launch of its payments app.

Allied to that, the funds will also help launch the brand in Germany in the second quarter of 2020, followed by France in 2021.

Jasper Dykes, CEO of Fly Now Pay Later said:“Few industries have been affected as significantly as tourism in the wake of COVID-19. Many companies have been affected and we are no different."

“This investment is a welcome boost to the sector, and provides us with adequate cash flow to help steer us through these challenging times.”

“It’s predicted that once lockdown restrictions begin to ease, airlines will need to recoup costs - leading to unavoidable price rises in the future."

“There are tens of thousands of people who have families around the world who need a frictionless way to finance their flights. Likewise, for many businesses to operate internationally, flying is an essential requirement for employees." “Fly Now Pay Later offers travellers a flexible and affordable way to pay for travel. By removing financial boundaries, we hope to open the post-COVID 19 world for travellers and reconnect people with their friends and families around the globe."