Checkout finance provider Divido has upgraded its UK direct-to-merchant platform Divido Connect in order to offer merchants access to retail finance across Europe. Following this announcement, traders and merchants can leverage `Divido Connect` in order to offer retail finance from a network of lenders across the UK and Europe.

The service was previously available in the UK only, but customers from France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Romania will be provided with the opportunity to use it from now on. Divido Connect allows merchants to offer their clients’ checkout finance for single payments, as well as for European users the opportunity to enter the UK marketplace. This gives traders the possibility to access a full range of finance options and capabilities in each of those markets, including 0% APR finance, pay-in-three, and installment finance for up to 10 years with purchases up to GBP 25,000, depending on each country.

More details about the Divido Connect upgrade Divido Connect delivers retail finance offerings and options for each country via Divido’s standard Merchant API. Customers will only need to integrate retail finance once at the global level of their webstores, in-stores, and telesales point-of-sale systems in order to benefit from the service. The Divido Merchant Portal can be used on devices such as tablets to take retail finance transactions in-store or by telesales.

The ready-to-use platform used the services and solutions provided by multiple lenders in order to operate in the marketplaces. For example, Novuna is set to offer UK retails its suite of financing options, while Oney will provide finance offerings and capabilities across the European countries. According to the press release, more lenders are set to join the network in the following 12 months.

By using one integration and one set of management tools, the platform aims to save on costly engineering work. By using the Divido Connect platform, traders will benefit from multiple features, such as the possibility to enable borderless finance (which provides access to a reliable and trusted lender network in Europe and in the UK, in order to activate finance in additional markets in four weeks approximately), gain control over their overall balance (by managing the customer experience with a platform that will offer brand recognition and will build user loyalty), and to increase the visibility of their businesses (by having a holistic view of the finance payments and transactions, as well as the status across the UK and Europe). Furthermore, merchants will be able to give their clients efficient and secure products, while managing multi-country finance with a single-serve platform and saving time, costs, and resources for building their own solutions.

Following this upgrade, the company aims to offer lenders the capability to access a larger audience for their tools, as well as merchants to make their investments in checkout finance without risks, by adding or moving to new lenders as they need. Moreover, Divido focuses on providing customers with secure and efficient products, including the possibility to have more control over their payments, transactions, as well as their overall financial balance. Divido Connect will also deliver interest-free finance in all of the seven countries, with 12-month plans available for Spain and Portugal, with durations of up to 10 years for France and the UK.

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