Tymit, the only company interested in new UK co-brand credit cards, walks away
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You have probably never heard of Tymit, but for much of the last two years it seemed like it was going to play a big part in your life.
Tymit was a fintech start-up that wanted to cross Buy Now Pay Later with a traditional credit card.
Instead of letting you roll over your balance indefinitely, each transaction had to be either settled immediately at the end of the month (like a charge card) or split into three to 36 monthly payments. There was no option to roll over your debt indefinitely which in many ways was a good thing.
Tymit had launched a credit card under its own brand but knew that it needed to partner with big names to make an impact.
It closed its Tymit-branded card to new applicants during 2023 and, in an attempt to get customers to close their accounts, introduced a £6.99 monthly fee.
In February 2024 it launched two co-brand credit cards with Harley Davidson – see here. This wasn’t a totally crazy idea, because Harley owners have the same enthusiasm for their hobby as many miles and points collectors.
Tymit was also in discussions with multiple airline and hotel groups about launching co-brand Visa credit cards.
And then, very quickly, it all shut down. Despite only launching in February, the Harley Davidson credit cards were recently closed to new applications.
It was a major turnaround for a business that only completed its first major fundraising (£23m) in October 2022.
Tymit has now pulled the plug completely
While we’ve worked hard to explore all options to keep Tymit Credit running, we’ve unfortunately had to make the difficult decision to discontinue the service.
With the high interest rate environment and resulting increased costs of capital it’s sadly unsustainable to continue offering the service. As a result your Tymit Credit account will be suspended from making new purchases as of the 14th November 2024.
With subsequent closure of settled accounts starting from the 15th December 2024
We know this isn’t the news you were hoping for, this is disappointing for us too. Tymit Credit was designed to provide you with a new experience with more transparency and control than mainstream credit cards, and the whole team at Tymit worked very hard to live up to those expectations.
In all honesty, Tymit made a mistake by chasing travel co-brand deals. The company could only make money if you didn’t settle your charges immediately and instead decided to repay in three to 36 instalments.
Holders of travel co-brand credit cards are generally well paid professionals and do not pay interest.
It would have incurred huge costs in borrowing money to give cardholders a few weeks free ‘float’ before they settled their bill whilst generating virtually no interest income.
Tymit has a new mission
Tymit has, to use that terrible venture capital phrase, ‘pivoted’.
Here’s the new plan:
Now, we’re channelling this same pioneering spirit into creating the next generation of instalment experiences. Whether offered in-store or in the online checkout, Tymit instalment programs are already helping merchant partners win, keep and get closer to their customers — and always with control and financial peace of mind at the core of the offering.
The new plan won’t concern you. The problem is that Tymit was the only credit card company that I knew to be actively seeking travel co-brand deals in the UK.
For now at least, Currensea – with its new Hilton Honors debit card and a unique ‘no capital’ model (because it’s not lending money) – is the only game in town for any airline or hotel group wanting to launch a UK payment card.
Capital on Tap, meanwhile, continues to grow at leaps and bounds, supported by the generous interchange fees still available on small business credit cards. Why more travel groups have not launched SME cards remains a mystery.
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