Private Fintech Company Upgrade Buys Uplift For $100M

The private fintech company, Upgrade, Inc., disclosed the acquisition of Uplift, Inc. for $100 million in cash and stock transaction.

Uplift offers Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment and credit products to travelers, currently serving 3.3 million customers in collaboration with over 300 of airlines, cruise lines, and hotel companies in the U.S. and Canada.

The acquisition is at par with Upgrade's strategy of making credit available at the point of sale to finance significant expenses like home or car buying and directly to consumers via cards and loans.

"We are thrilled to welcome Uplift team members, partners and customers to Upgrade. The Uplift team has established the company as the leading BNPL provider in the travel industry, and we look forward to combining forces to make travel more accessible and affordable for millions of consumers, and over time implement similar solutions in adjacent parts of our customers' lives," said Renaud Laplanche, Upgrade's co-founder and CEO. 

"We believe this combination will accelerate Uplift's ability to help consumers pay for their trips through simple and affordable monthly installments. As part of Upgrade, more resources will be available to better serve our partners and customers to continue to develop simple, surprise-free, and straightforward payment plans to ensure people can pay for the things that matter most, the ones that elevate their lives," said Tom Botts, Chief Commercial Officer at Uplift.