OYO’s Stay Now Pay Later: A Convenient Option for Travellers, but Is It Worth It?

OYO’s Stay Now Pay Later: OYO, a hospitality technology company, announced a Stay Now, Pay Later (SNPL) feature for Indian travellers on June 13, 2023. This feature is a result of the increasing popularity of purchase now, pay later (BNPL) programmes for purchasing consumer electronics from e-commerce websites and retail stores.’

OYO’s Stay Now Pay Later

SNPL offers a credit limit of up to Rs 5,000 to its clients. You must settle the bill within 15 days of departure. For this feature, OYO has partnered with Simpl, a credit-based payments service.

You can access the feature via the OYO app’s main screen or by selecting Simpl when selecting a payment method. This feature is currently accessible to Android users and will shortly be made available to iOS users.

Abhinav Sinha, OYO’s Global COO and Chief Technology & Product Officer, explains, “SNPL offers a convenient payment solution that meets the needs of cashflow-conscious travellers.”

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What succeeds?

The SNPL one-tap payment makes hotel reservations very convenient, according to digital lending consultant Parijat Garg. Signing up for SNPL and Simpl for the first time may take a few minutes. However, SNPL can facilitate future reservations, he claims.

Users who book hotels through Simpl receive a discount of up to 65 percent and Rs 50 compensation.

What doesn’t work?

“The Rs 5,000 credit limit on Simpl is inadequate for frequent and affluent travellers,” says Garg. If the consumer is a returning one, the limit should be increased.

If you delay your payment on the Simpl app for more than 15 days, you will be charged interest based on the amount of your account as well as a late fee of up to Rs 250 plus GST.

You should exercise caution when utilising such credit facilities. A single bullet payment is a debt snare when a bill is generated after 15 days. Once the statement is generated, you must have the funds available prior to the repayment deadline.

If you do not repay, it will negatively affect your credit history, you will incur late/default fees, and you will incur interest charges. It will also impact the likelihood of receiving credit in the future.