Float, the card-linked instalment platform, has launched in the UK. Compatible with 55+ million UK credit cards, Float lets merchants offer their shoppers up to 12 interest-and fee-free1 monthly instalments using the credit card they already have – with no new credit issued and no additional sign-up process. Float’s technology powers this new category of instalment payments: one that runs entirely within the shopper’s existing credit limit.
Operating in South Africa since 2021 with over 2,000 stores, featuring global brands such as Samsung, Trek, Reebok, The North Face, and Diesel, Float is now enabling UK merchants to serve a shopper-base that existing point-of-sale financing ignores – millions of consumers who already have enough credit, but just need more time to manage their payments.
Float performs strongest with merchants in higher-value verticals – consumer electronics, furniture and home, sports and leisure, automotive, luxury fashion and lifestyle and healthcare. Across its existing merchant base, Float drives a 134% uplift in average order value2, with an average order of over £5002.
Alex Forsyth-Thompson, Float’s Founder and CEO, explains why he believes UK merchants and consumers alike will welcome Float’s launch: “Nearly every merchant we speak to in the UK is keen to solve the same equations – getting bigger baskets without discounting or offering shoppers new loans and getting more conversions without more friction. Not only does Float answer these challenges but merchants can also be confident they are offering a benefit to their shoppers – better payment terms without the need to take on new credit. We have witnessed first-hand how merchants offering credit card-linked instalments using Float’s technology are winning shoppers’ spend.”
In the UK, consumers carry over £70bn in credit card balances. Yet over £250bn credit card limits remains unutilised3. “Millions of UK consumers don’t need more credit – they need more time” explains Forsyth-Thompson. Credit card-holders typically face a 30-to-55 window before interest applies, so when considering a new, substantial purchase this is often a barrier.
Forsyth-Thompson continues “Instead of a trade-off between paying down their credit card balance, taking out new credit or point-of-sale finance, or abandoning the purchase entirely, with Float, merchants can now offer their shoppers an alternative. Our tech allows merchants to give shoppers more time with the credit they already have on their existing bank-issued credit cards. That drives more value for merchants and supports responsible credit usage for banks. That’s the first step in our mission to redefine the way the world pays with credit.”
Float is card-linked and works with any Visa or Mastercard credit card. At the merchant’s checkout, the shopper selects to pay in instalments using their existing credit card (powered by Float), chooses their instalment plan, and pays with the card they already have – no additional sign-up process or app download required. Whilst other instalment models extend new credit facilities, Float’s technology works within the shopper’s existing credit limit which also means it works within the existing credit card protections and cardholders retain their other benefits like rewards and miles.
