Travel and Fintech Are Colliding in New, Exciting Ways
Skift Take
Fintech is trending, and likewise for superapps in certain parts of the world. Getting into travel is too delicious to resist, but the world is not ending for incumbent travel competitors.
The UK-based fintech app Revolut, which claims 16 million users, branched out beyond financial services for the first time, and began selling hotels, homes, and guest houses.
The product, available in the UK starting Tuesday with rollouts across Europe and the U.S. on the agenda, comes with a 10 percent cash back offer on each transaction as Revolut becomes the latest multifaceted superapp wannabe.
CNBC, for one, hyped the seriousness of the launch, arguing that "the move marks a challenge to travel industry giants like Booking Holdings, Expedia and TripAdvisor." Expedia, Booking, Tripadvisor, and Trivago, as well as Hilton and Hyatt, all made substantial share price gains on Tuesday — Revolut notwithstanding.
Investors don't care about Revolut at this point, nor should they.
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