What is the history of ShareGroop's development in France? What role does this market play in the Group's business?
Quentin Arnoult - ShareGroop was set up in 2015 after our CEO was unable to buy rugby tickets online for himself and friends due to insufficient finances to advance the funds. By the time we had raised enough money to pay for the tickets, they were already sold out! This gave him the idea of creating a shared payment solution. And by 2017, it had been integrated by a number of key account partners. These now include Air France, Accor, SNCF, Transavia, UCPA and...
What is the history of ShareGroop's development in France? What role does this market play in the Group's business?
Quentin Arnoult - ShareGroop was set up in 2015 after our CEO was unable to buy rugby tickets online for himself and friends due to insufficient finances to advance the funds. By the time we had raised enough money to pay for the tickets, they were already sold out! This gave him the idea of creating a shared payment solution. And by 2017, it had been integrated by a number of key account partners. These now include Air France, Accor, SNCF, Transavia, UCPA and Pierre et Vacances residences.
What are the principles of this solution?
Quentin Arnoult - First of all, it should be pointed out that we do not work directly with the public, but via the e-commerce sites of our partner customers. More than 30 payment modules are accessible via a single integration. They help to streamline online customer payments, a crucial stage in the user experience.
What types of payment are available?
Quentin Arnoult - In fact, our aim is to offer any type of payment solution for services that are very often linked to the travel and transport business. For example, the purchase of train or plane tickets, hotel nights or, of course, events. Our payment solutions meet a number of different needs. For example, you can pay in several instalments, a fairly standard option. This reduces the problem of spending too much all at once. We also offer shared payment between people. This avoids the need for cash advances and repayments. There is also the option of using several payment cards to avoid exceeding the limit set by the bank on one card and having a payment rejected. These payment solutions are real growth drivers for our partners and help build customer loyalty.
What role does France play in ShareGroop's business?
Quentin Arnoult - France is of course our primary geographic market. But since 2019, we've been looking to go international. We're working on the Belgian, German and Dutch markets. We are stepping up our international development by ensuring geographical coverage of our payments on 5 continents and over 40 countries. We now have over a hundred partner customers who integrate our solution.
Is there already a more specific product for corporate travel managers, with ShareGroop becoming the exclusive means of paying for business travel-related expenses or services?
Quentin Arnoult - As I've already said, ShareGroop only exists through its partner customers. We are not, therefore, a stand-alone service payment organisation. Nevertheless, our shared payment tools are perfectly suited to use by SMEs. The "Group Service" module makes it easier to organise groups of more than 10 people, and allows the business travel manager, for example, to monitor the payment of participants from a dedicated page. With group payment, the members of a business trip pay their share and each is free to add a supplement without any impact on the others. Finally, sending secure payment links by text message, email or other channel makes validating and paying for a quote quick and easy.
How has the market performed since the Covid-19 crisis?
Quentin Arnoult - I have to say that the Covid crisis has had a definite impact on our business. It prompted us to diversify our solutions to meet the new challenges faced by our partners. For example, we have been working on the responsible dimension of payments, a preoccupation that developed a great deal during the pandemic. We offer our partner customers the option of associating a payment with a more responsible act. Like the "rounding up" solution for a sum to be paid. It's up to our partners' customers to choose.
