By our staff reporter
Dashen Bank and the Ethiopian Airlines Group jointly launch an innovative service package dubbed ‘Fly Now Pay Later’.
According to the innovators, this new technological innovation offers unprecedented flexibility and convenience for travelers allowing them to experience the unique opportunity to fly first and make payment at a later date.
“This pioneering move will redefine the travel experience,” both Dashen and Ethiopian asserted.
As data shows, the impact of technology in the travel industry is not only limited to registering business growth and profitability, but more importantly, it enhances the travel experience by reducing unnecessary steps that have traditionally contributed to travel ordeals.
Expressing his delight about the newly introduced service, Yohannes Million, Chief Digital Banking Officer of Dashen Bank said, “Fly Now Pay Later (FNPL) is an innovative way to purchase flights that allows travelers to book their trips without paying the full price upfront. The service will be available based on the customers’ choice of a 12- or 6-month payment period. Additionally, customers must open a bank account at Dashen Bank and remain as customers for at least three months in order to enjoy this service.”
Yohannes also emphasized that when customers go to the nearby Dashen Bank branch to apply, they are expected to present the necessary documents along with a guarantee.
At the joint launch, Lemma Yadecha, Group Chief Commercial Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, said, “At Ethiopian, we place great value on system and technology modernization. System is one of our strategic growth pillars, and we continue to invest heavily in introducing cutting-edge technologies as part of our customer-centric endeavors. The new payment service we are launching today, ‘Fly Now, Pay Later,’ will offer customers additional payment flexibility and enhance the customer experience. We have integrated our mobile app with the new payment strategy provided by Dashen Bank. We will further strive to make our system compatible with the best practices of other domestic banks as well.”
The credit period for this service is set for six to twelve months, and the credit limit can be renewed at the end of the credit tenure. As Dashen Bank confirmed, its IT department has developed a desktop application that is integrated with the Ethiopian Airlines’ FlyGate application. Ethiopian Airlines, through its booking system, will then provide confirmed passenger flight bookings and services upon successful payment confirmation received from Dashen Bank through FlyGate.
To use this service, customers will receive a spending limit from the Dashen Bank branch and an SMS confirmation that should be entered into Ethiopian Mobile app to purchase flight tickets. Passenger flight tickets can be purchased once or multiple times, up to the facility limit.
As noted during the launch, the credit limit is determined based on the customers’ borrowing capacity, up to a maximum of 600 thousand birr.
The Fly Now Pay Later payment strategy has increasingly been gaining popularity in the travel industry in recent years.
