Evolve Taps Affirm to Provide Pay-Over-Time Options to Travelers

Evolve, a vacation rental hospitality company, has partnered with payment network Affirm to provide pay-over-time options to travelers.

Affirm will be the exclusive pay-over-time partner of Evolve, which has more than 30,000 properties in 750 markets, the companies said in a Tuesday (Jan. 9) press release.

“We look forward to the positive impact this partnership will have on Evolve bookings and the opportunity it will create for people to travel and make memories during these uncertain economic times,” Eric Schueller, executive vice president of revenue at Evolve, said in the release.

With this partnership, eligible travelers can book vacation rentals on Evolve and pay over time in simple monthly payments with the solution provided by Affirm, according to the release.

When approved Evolve customers select Affirm at checkout, they can split the total cost of any booking over $500 into monthly payments, the release said.

They will be shown the total cost and will never pay more than they agree to upfront, per the release.

“Recent Affirm research revealed that the vast majority of Americans — more than 90% — plan to travel this year, and the fact that costs remain elevated means it is crucial travelers have access to flexible and transparent payment options,” Pat Suh, senior vice president of revenue at Affirm, said in the release. “By partnering with Evolve, we are able to allow more travelers to book trips without concern for late fees or compound interest.”

With the launch of this partnership, Evolve joins more than 266,000 other Affirm retail partners, according to the press release.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is rapidly emerging as a payment method of choice for travelers, and the field of providers and use cases is burgeoning, PYMNTS reported in December.

PYMNTS Intelligence has found that younger consumers are especially inclined to use BNPL for their travel payments.

Thirty percent of millennials and 29% of Gen Z consumers used or planned to use BNPL for their summer travel expenses, compared to just 5% of baby boomers and seniors, according to “The Credit Economy: How Consumers Financed Their Summer Travel,” a PYMNTS and i2c collaboration.

The report found that the younger generations turn to BNPL for travel expenses because of its ability to manage cash flow and offer better payment terms.