German travel startup Travador offers purchase invoices

Payolution, an Austrian provider of invoicing and payment by instalment, has partnered with the German website Travador.com to offer the first “pay on account” option in the online travel industry. With purchase invoices, travelers don’t have to pay for their holiday beforehand, they only get the bill after they have returned.

White-label provider Payolution will take over the customer’s operational payment process, without any risks for the retailer, the company promises. By offering a “pay on account” option, Travador can offer consumers something they aren’t familiar with when it comes to booking vacations online. Travelers are accustomed to make a down payment and then pay the rest of the money shortly before they go on holiday. “But this often causes purchase decisions to be postponed or travelers start comparing multiple offers, which means the conversion will drop noticeably for the retailer.”

With the payment option “purchase on account” a longer payment period for the open final amount is possible and impulse purchases can be made directly. According to Payolution this new payment method can also speak to customers who are reluctant to share sensitive information online, lick credit card or bank information.

Purchase invoices popular in Germany
A recent study by E-Commerce-Center Köln shows that purchase invoices are still the most popular online payment method in Germany. “Therefore, it was only a matter of time before this method was also offered in the travel industry”, the payment service provider says. But in order to offer a good payment method to travellers, just copying the experience consumers have with purchasing on account when buying physical goods, isn’t enough. Payolution thus developed processes that cover the specific needs of the travel industry, such as early booking or making down payments first and then paying the remaining amount.

Travador
Travador, founded in 2013 and based in Munich, secured 6.3 million euros in growth financing last year. Customers can book travel offers from Travador in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As EU-startups.com wrote in 2014, the founders want continued growth and expansion of the core business in German-speaking Europe, as well as steady expansion into new markets.