Upgrade Raises $165M to Fuel Travel BNPL Growth

Upgrade, a US-based fintech company, has raised $165 million in a Series G funding round.

This round was led by Neuberger Berman Funds, with participation from LuminArx Capital Management and existing investors, including DST Global and Ribbit Capital.

Upgrade provides a range of credit and banking products, including buy now, pay later (BNPL) services, personal loans, home improvement loans, and auto financing. The new capital injection will be used to develop new products and grow the company.

Its BNPL offering, branded Flex Pay (formerly Uplift), was acquired two years ago for $100 million.

Flex Pay partners with over 750 major travel brands, including airlines such as United, Alaska, and Southwest, cruise lines like Norwegian and Carnival, and hotel chains like Wyndham.

As part of this funding round, Peter Sterling, head of specialty finance at Neuberger, will join Upgrade’s board of directors.

Another fintech company, Revolut, recently acquired Swifty to integrate its AI agent that interprets users’ preferences for flights, hotels, and other aspects of their trip. The agent uses those criteria to create a shortlist for the user to select the preferred option.

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash