Divido set to create world’s first embedded retail finance network with the launch of expanded product, ‘Divido Connect’ 

London, UK – 5th July 2023: Checkout finance provider, Divido, has announced the upgrade of its UK direct-to-merchant platform to now give merchants easy access to retail finance across Europe. With ‘Divido Connect’ merchants can now uniquely offer retail finance from a network of reputable lenders across the UK and Europe.

• Divido Connect launch will supercharge international retail finance for merchants 
• The new retail finance platform provides a single point of integration into multiple lenders across key European markets
• This will allow merchants to offer omnichannel retail finance across seven countries including the UK, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Romania
• Divido Connect is the foundation for the company’s vision of creating a network of trusted lenders and merchants, to enable retail finance at any checkout, globally

Previously available in the UK, and now in France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Romania, Divido Connect makes it straightforward for merchants to offer their customers’ checkout finance for single payments and for European merchants to enter the UK. This will give merchants access to a full range of finance options in each of these markets, including pay-in-three, 0% APR finance and instalment finance for up to 10 years with purchases up to £25,000, depending on the country.

The ready-to-use Divido Connect platform is powered by trusted lenders. Novuna will offer UK retailers financing options and Oney will provide finance across Europe, with more tier one lenders set to join the network in the next 12 months. Using one integration and one set of management tools saves costly engineering work.

With Divido Connect, merchants can:

• Enable borderless finance – Access a reliable and trusted lender network in the UK and Europe to activate finance in additional markets in approximately four weeks
• Boost efficiency – Manage multi-country finance with a single-serve platform, saving time, costs and resources to build your own bespoke solution
• Gain greater control – Manage the customer experience with a solution that will cement brand recognition and build customer loyalty
• Increase their visibility – Have a central view of all finance payments and status across the UK and Europe

Divido Connect is the first offering in Divido’s expansion of its established checkout finance platform to move towards creating a whole-checkout retail finance ecosystem.

CEO of Divido, Todd Latham explains:

Checkout finance in all its forms has exploded in the last 18 months. Consumers are increasingly seeking out embedded finance offerings to better manage their finances and we expect demand to continue to grow. Having a checkout finance option that helps consumers pay in smaller repayments is going to have to be a first thought, not an afterthought, for merchants looking to convert sales. On the flip side, lenders have a huge opportunity to grow their market share by working with these merchants, but the two parties are rarely connecting to offer the best solution.

“That’s where our network can help. We already work with lenders and merchants to offer a win-win solution to all stakeholders, as well as the end consumer. Lenders get access to a larger audience, merchants can de-risk their investment in checkout finance by adding or moving to new lenders as needed and consumers can have more control over their payments. The launch of Divido Connect expands on this, and will see merchants able to easily grow their checkout finance offerings into new markets and have full visibility into all their checkout finance payments in multiple markets, via one single integration.”

Checkout finance is set to be worth $1 trillion in sales by 2030, and Divido found that more than three-quarters (76%) of large retailers in the UK had implemented at least one form of checkout finance (either BNPL or traditional retail finance), with over a quarter (27%) offering multiple solutions.

As well as providing additional revenue streams, checkout finance can drastically improve checkout conversions. Divido found that six in ten European (59%) consumers would be more likely to complete a purchase if they knew checkout finance was a payment option and nearly half (47%) would consider spending more if checkout finance was an option. 

Todd Latham continues:

 “We are committed to powering frictionless finance for moments that matter, globally. With our research showing that more consumers are looking to use checkout finance to spread the cost of items, merchants should pay close attention to these consumer preferences for their products and services and look at how checkout finance can diversify their payment product portfolio. 

“Divido Connect will make it easier for retailers to provide finance across the UK and EU from multiple lenders, giving retailers full control over how they surface finance and what it looks like in-store and online, protecting the brand experience and making changes to increase customer lifetime value.”

Brian Flesk, Head of Retail at Novuna Consumer Finance comments:

Our partnership with Divido will open up the market for more retailers to access Novuna’s market-leading point of sale credit solutions. The move supports our ambitions to continue to expand into wider markets, and build on our established reputation in the market.

Christophe de Pompignan, Global Executive BNPL Leader at Oney, comments that, “We’re delighted to be working with Divido to strengthen their merchant finance proposition. Merchants on the Divido platform have the option to provide checkout finance solutions to customers across Europe, underwritten by Oney. Furthermore, existing merchant clients will have the opportunity to support checkout finance both online and in stores.”

ENDS
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Notes to editors

Methodology

Divido commissioned a survey of 4,000 European adults aged 18+ in April 2023 across France, Spain, Italy and Germany. 1,000 consumers from each country were surveyed. The survey was built using a representative sample of the French, Spanish, Italian and German population using the latest census data, ensuring respondents were chosen from representative percentages of the population according to age, gender, geographical regions, household income, family size, employment type and sector, professional qualifications and education level. 

About Divido

• Divido connects merchants, lenders and payment partners at points of sale across Europe to offer checkout finance solutions.
• Divido offers merchants access to retail finance across multiple markets with one integration, or to whitelabel its tech stack to help merchants launch their own services.
• Through Divido, consumers can instantly access finance from established lenders at the moment they need it, online, in-store and on the go.
• Divido is fully regulated and fully ISO 27001 certified.
• Divido has received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, and Deloitte included Divido in its 50 Fastest Growing Technology Companies in the UK.
• Headquartered in London, the business employs over 100 people.
• Find out more at https://www.divido.com/