MakeMyTrip ties up with Capital Float to offer zero interest loans

In an industry-first initiative, online travel portal MakeMyTrip (MMT) has tied up with digital lending platform Capital Float for providing travel finance for customers, which will let them avail of credit facility of up to Rs 2 lakh to book flights, hotels, holidays or international travel.

Customers will be able to pay back in monthly instalments of up to nine months at zero interest and with zero down payment.

Initially an invite-only programme, it will be rolled out for 10 million eligible customers in the first phase. MMT had 37 million transacted customers until the beginning of February, across all its platforms, including Goibibo and redBus.in.

Targeted at customers who may be low in credit preference for banks or new to credit, the programme, called MMT Travel Finance, will let selected customers enrol after completing a two-step registration process. After this, they will be assigned a credit limit to make travel purchases.

“We have the capability to deploy advanced machine learning and Big Data analytics to offer easy travel finance options and help customers cut through time-consuming paperwork to sanction and process credit. This tech-powered credit solution will help fulfil the need for access to credit for a large number of unserved or underserved customers,” said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and chief executive officer-India, MMT.

The credit limit will be assigned based on customers’ transaction pattern on MMT and credit bureau record check done for interested customers. The process approval takes less than 30 seconds on the MMT app, which is followed by credit line activation after requisite know-your-customer norms are fulfilled.  

“With this product, we have retained an excellent customer experience at the core of the offering, as customers can avail of zero cost travel finance from Capital Float with just a few clicks. We are thrilled to continue expanding upon our DNA of being a disruptor in the fintech space. We’ve presently pre-approved nearly 10 million customers and look forward to financing the requests of millions more on MMT,” said Sashank Rishyasringa, co-founder, Capital Float.

The pilot phase was rolled out for customers at the end of December, just ahead of the holiday season. Those who signed up largely utilised their credit limit to purchase holiday packages and international trips for themselves and their friends and family, according to MMT.

The company plans to scale up the feature across all its business lines and also roll it out on its travel platform Goibibo.