GoCardless puts payments in motion for Brompton’s bike subscription service

Brompton, designers and makers of the iconic folding bike, has teamed up with GoCardless to streamline the payments of its brand new ‘Brompton Bike Hire’ subscription service, fuelled by the increasing UK demand for bikes. Brompton customers in the UK can now benefit from easy to set-up and manage monthly payments, powered by GoCardless, guaranteeing a seamless experience for both the customer and merchant. 

Over the last year, Brompton has seen an increase in demand for bikes. The pandemic has exaggerated this, with recent government data suggesting that cycling has increased by 300% during UK lockdown. 

With the average UK household spending £552 a year on subscription services and consumer behaviour shifting away from direct ownership, Brompton saw an opportunity and launched Brompton Bike Hire during summer 2020. This new service enables customers to avoid the upfront expense of purchasing a bike outright and with easy monthly payments, powered by GoCardless, it is easier than ever for consumers to rethink their commute. 

With GoCardless’ end-to-end API, Brompton is able to automate the entire payment collection process, significantly reducing time spent on administration. One of the key reasons for selecting GoCardless was to reduce DSO (Day Sales Outstanding) and improve cash flow, so that Brompton can invest in further growth. By using a bank-to-bank payment method it will also reduce pain points that lead to customer churn, such as credit cards expiring, while delivering a frictionless online experience for the customer which in turn can increase conversion.

Speaking about the service, Brompton Bike Hire MD, Julian Scriven, says: “There has been a significant shift towards cycling now more than ever. Our pay-as-you-ride schemes have been extremely popular, and the addition of the GoCardless solution has proved incredibly popular with our customer base.”

In the current subscription-based economy, the big technology companies like Netflix, Spotify and Disney+ dominate, but transport is now coming into the equation. Offering the right payment service is key to creating a seamless experience for customers, as well as having the peace of mind that everything is running smoothly behind the scenes. 

Here at GoCardless, we’re looking forward to working with Brompton to automate their recurring payments, and help them meet this demand for hire services.