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Robinhood, Wise, Reap: fintech apps are becoming travel ancillary shelves

By Loris Mazloum

Three non-travel brands added travel extras to their apps in the same week. None of them is an OTA. All of them picked the same items first: connectivity and airport lounges.

What happened

Robinhood + Duffel (October 8). Duffel now powers Robinhood Travel inside the Robinhood Banking app: flights from 500+ airlines, 1.6M stays, and car rental. Per Duffel, Platinum Cardholders get up to 10% cash back on hotels and car rentals and 5% on flights booked there, plus access to 1,400+ Priority Pass lounges; Duffel handles servicing and support. Duffel adds that over 90% of its partnerships are now non-travel brands, including Bilt and Rippling.

Wise (October 6). Wise launched eSIM data plans with connectivity from Gigs U.K. Ltd: regional plans in 150+ destinations, custom plans in several markets where the traveller sets the exact data and days, one-time eSIM installation, and refunds for unused plans. It sits next to airport lounge passes that Wise cardholders have been able to buy in-app since April 2026.

Reap + Collinson (October 5). Reap, which issues stablecoin-linked cards for crypto exchanges, Web3 neobanks, and private banks, partnered with Collinson International so eligible cardholders get Priority Pass access to 1,900+ airport lounges and travel experiences.

Why builders should care

The buyer of extras is widening. Banks, card issuers, and spend tools now want eSIM and lounge access as retention features, not just airlines and OTAs. If you build travel tech, your customer may be a fintech product team that has never integrated a travel supplier.

The ticket and the extras are separate integrations. Robinhood’s flights, hotels, and cars come from Duffel; its lounge benefit is Priority Pass; Wise’s eSIM comes from Gigs. That is the same split we described in After Duffel: who books lounge, eSIM, and insurance?: the air stack covers the ticket, and the non-ticket extras are a different supplier map.

Agents are next. These launches are app features today. The same items, an eSIM for the destination and a lounge on the layover, are what an AI travel agent gets asked right after the flight is booked. They work best as tools with a quote step and an explicitly approved purchase, not as banners.

How to add the same extras without five contracts

Ancilair exposes eSIM plans, lounge access, travel insurance, security fast track, transfers, and visa checks as pay-per-call MCP, REST, or CLI tools. Each call is quoted at the supplier’s rate with 0% markup before anything is bought. Start with the eSIM API for AI agents and the airport lounge API, or browse the catalog.

Sources

Not affiliated with Robinhood, Duffel, Wise, Gigs, Reap, or Collinson. Figures are the companies’ own, as published on the dates above.

Questions

What did Robinhood and Duffel announce?
On October 8, 2026, Duffel said it powers the flight, hotel, and car rental experiences inside Robinhood Travel, in the Robinhood Banking app. Per Duffel, Platinum Cardholders get cash back on travel booked there and access to 1,400+ Priority Pass lounges, and Duffel handles servicing and traveller support.
What did Wise add?
On October 6, 2026, Wise launched eSIM data plans in its app, with connectivity from Gigs U.K. Ltd. It offers regional plans in 150+ destinations and, in several markets, custom plans where the traveller sets the data allowance and number of days. Wise cardholders could already buy airport lounge passes in the app since April 2026.
What is the Reap and Collinson partnership?
Announced October 5, 2026, it lets Reap's clients (crypto exchanges, Web3 neobanks, private banks, asset managers) offer eligible stablecoin-card holders access to Priority Pass's network of 1,900+ airport lounges and travel experiences.