SOUTH African
consumers will soon
be able to take a loan
to book their next vacation.
Travelfin – a new pointof-sale
financing option
for travellers to book their
holiday and pay it off
over a period of 12 to 24
months – promises to open
new markets for those
selling travel, and assist
agents in securing more
prepaid bookings. Finance
will be advanced through
Capitec Bank.
The product’s founders,
Frikkie Reynders (of
inbound tour operator
Highline Tours) and Andre
Fourie (of FinYou), say it
will be a tool that agents
can offer their clients and
assist them in making the
sale “there and then”.
Frikkie says the biggest
advantage of Travelfin is
that the transaction can
happen well in advance
of the travel date even if
the client doesn’t have
the cash available, which
fixes the exchange rate
and prevents the cost from
escalating due to rate
fluctuation or additional
flight costs. “For example,
the client might get a
bonus in December and
want to travel then, but
now they can book it in
February already to take
advantage of early-bird
discounts and avoid the
last-minute rush. Travelfin
is an extra tool to plan
holidays better and fix the
price,” he says.
Clients will have three
options to apply for
finance: filling in an
application while at the
travel agency; applying
through the travel agency’s
website; or applying online
through Travelfin’s website.
If their application is
approved, they will receive
a notification and the
amount for their trip will
be settled directly with
the travel agency within a
few days.
Frikkie says Travelfin
is aware of the financial
pressure consumers put
on themselves and will
not overexpose them to
debt. “If they cannot
afford to travel, we won’t
sell it to them. They must
be able to afford the
monthly payments.”
He believes there are
three target markets in
particular that will find
this product useful: clients
who want to travel for a
special occasion, such as
newly or soon-to-be weds
who don’t have the cash
to pay for a honeymoon
because of wedding costs;
the emerging market who
have secure jobs but
perhaps not the savings to
let them travel; and those
who need to travel for an
emergency and don’t have
the adequate credit on
their cards or the time to
save up.
According to Frikkie,
the finance charges are
reasonable. Andre adds
that there is no registration
or monthly fees and that
for merchants there are
no bank charges, making
it cheaper than credit card
transactions. He says
that, like a credit card
transaction, Travelfin will
receive the payment from
a financial institution and
settle the outstanding
amount with the merchant.
Currently Capitec is
advancing the loans,
although Andre says there
are plans to get other big
financial institutions on
board in the near future.
Travelfin will use the FinYou
platform, which is already
used by large brands such
as Bidvest and Minolta in
other industries and has
been tweaked to suit the
travel industry, says Andre.
In-store training is to be
provided by Axis Marketing.
Kosie Nagel, land and air
contractor for Flight Centre,
says Travelfin provides
another payment solution,
similar to using a credit
card, for those who can
afford to take on the debt,
but just in a new form. “It
speaks to a certain market
and offers another way for
them to explore the world.”
Kosie says he is already
putting selected packages
together under the Student
Flights brand and will
advertise the possibility of
travelling now and paying
it off over 24 months.
Once the product has been
tested, he expects to roll it
out to the rest of the group.
For now, Frikkie says the
product is in “alpha phase”
as it needs to be tested to
ensure that it is a seamless
operation and that there
is sufficient demand in
the market. At the time of
going to print, the launch
of the Travelfin website was
imminent.
