WavePay: Buy an Inflatable Boat with 4 Fortnightly Payments (No Credit Check)

A new way to own a premium inflatable boat

For most Australian skippers, the gap between "I want this boat" and "I'm on the water" isn't the boat — it's the lump sum. A serious tender, catamaran or offshore monohull is a real investment, and waiting six months to save the full ticket means losing six months of the season.

That's why we built WavePay — our own in-house Pay-in-4 plan, designed specifically for inflatable boat buyers. No third-party lender. No credit check. No interest. No paperwork. Just four equal fortnightly payments charged automatically to the card on file, with your boat in the build queue before you've made your final payment.

This article walks through exactly how WavePay works, why we built it instead of pointing customers at Afterpay or Zip, what happens at each instalment, and who it's best suited to.

What is WavePay?

WavePay is a 4-instalment fortnightly payment plan offered directly by Easy Inflatables on every boat in the range — Aerowave Sport, Viper Series, AeroCat 330/360/380 and WaveRunner 380. It works for both boat-only orders and full packages (hull + Bimini + pump + LockPro Plus wheels).

The headline numbers:

• 4 equal instalments, each 25% of the boat price
• Charged every 14 days automatically by Stripe to the card you enter at checkout
• Instalment 1 on day of order, instalment 4 on day 42
• No interest, no fees, no credit application, no Equifax check, no impact on your credit file
• Stripe-initiated and managed — every charge is initiated and managed by Stripe, a PCI-compliant payment provider trusted by millions of businesses worldwide. Easy Inflatables never touches your card details or the charging process
• Boat-only category — accessories, outboards and spares stay on standard payment

If you can hold a Visa, Mastercard or Amex with enough headroom for the first instalment, you can use WavePay. That's the whole eligibility test.

How a WavePay order moves through our workshop

Here's the part that matters most — when does the boat actually start getting built?

Day	What happens
Day 0	You place the order and instalment 1 (25%) is charged by Stripe. Order is logged, hull spec confirmed, you receive a written confirmation and your WavePay schedule.
Day 14	Instalment 2 (25%) is charged automatically by Stripe. Once instalment 2 clears, your boat enters the build queue — this covers the non-refundable deposit on materials and the production slot.
Day 28	Instalment 3 (25%) is charged by Stripe. Build is underway: hull welding, drop-stitch floor pressure-testing, tubes bonded, transom fitted.
Day 42	Instalment 4 (25%) is charged by Stripe. Build is completed, QC'd and dispatched to your nominated freight option (FREE 30–40 day sea freight or A$810 7–14 day air freight).

The critical thing to understand: we start the build after instalment 2 — not after instalment 4. That means you're typically getting your boat 4–6 weeks sooner than if we waited for full payment, but we're also fully covered for the deposit before any materials are cut.

Why we built WavePay instead of using a BNPL provider

We looked hard at Afterpay, Zip, Humm, Klarna and the marine-specific finance companies before launching WavePay. Three problems killed every one of them for our customers:

1. Transaction caps. Most Pay-in-4 providers cap individual transactions at A$2,000–A$3,000. Our boats start at A$3,995 and run past A$9,000 for a Sovereign Catamaran package — they're flat-out unavailable on consumer BNPL.

2. Merchant fees passed back to the customer. BNPL providers charge merchants 4–6% per transaction. On a A$5,000 boat that's A$200–A$300 of margin that gets baked back into pricing. Doing it in-house, our only cost is the standard Stripe processing fee — savings stay in the boat price.

3. Credit checks and approvals. Every traditional marine finance product means a credit application, a hard pull on your file, and a 24–72 hour approval window. For a A$4,000 inflatable that's overkill, and for buyers in regional postcodes or with thin credit files it's often a flat decline.

WavePay is the simplest possible answer: small enough to be auto-approved by card, transparent enough that you can see every instalment date before you commit, and structured so we're protected against cancellation but you're not paying a 6% finance premium for the privilege.

The fine print, in plain English

Non-refundable. Once a WavePay plan begins, all instalments are non-refundable. As soon as instalment 1 clears we begin allocating your production slot, locking in your hull colour spec, and reserving the long-lead components (VALMEX fabric, drop-stitch floor, transom). After instalment 2 we've started cutting and welding. There's no point at which we can refund and resell a partially-built custom boat. If you're not 100% sure you want the boat, don't start a WavePay plan — pay in full, or wait. (Same logic as a custom-built order on full payment — once production is committed, the order is committed. See our Order & Refund Policy for the full clause.)

Failed payments. If a fortnightly charge fails (insufficient funds, expired card, stop on the card), we retry once after 48 hours, then send you a polite reminder with a one-click update-card link. If two consecutive instalments fail, the build pauses until the schedule is brought current — the boat ships on the next outbound freight window after the final instalment clears.

Boats only. WavePay applies to boat hulls and full boat packages. Accessories, Hidea outboards, spares and consumables remain on standard payment at checkout — they're typically small enough that splitting them into four payments doesn't move the needle.

No early-payout penalty. Want to clear the plan early? Pay any of the remaining instalments early from your account page — the build queue accelerates with you, where workshop capacity allows.

Who WavePay is for (and who it isn't)

It's a great fit if you're:

• A weekend skipper who's ready to buy this season and would rather spread the hit over 6 weeks than wait 6 months
• A charter operator adding a second tender to the fleet and wanting to preserve working capital
• A grey-nomad or interstate buyer for whom A$4,000–A$9,000 in one lump is do-able but uncomfortable
• Anyone who's previously been knocked back on traditional marine finance due to thin file or self-employed income

It's probably not the right tool if you're:

• Still deciding which hull is right for you — pay deposits aren't the way to "lock in a slot while you think"
• Looking for a 12 or 24-month repayment term — WavePay is 6 weeks total, not 6 months; for longer terms see our AMMF marine finance partner
• Unsure your card will reliably have funds for each fortnightly instalment

How it compares

	WavePay	AMMF Marine Finance	Pay in full
Term	6 weeks	1–7 years	Immediate
Interest	0%	From ~9% p.a.	—
Credit check	None	Yes (Equifax)	None
Boat in build	After instalment 2	After deposit + approval	Immediately
Best for	A$4k–A$9k boats, fast turnaround	Larger packages, longer terms	Buyers with cash on hand

If your purchase is over A$10,000 (e.g. Sovereign Catamaran + Hidea 30HP outboard + premium accessories), AMMF marine finance over 24–60 months is usually the more comfortable structure. WavePay shines in the A$4k–A$9k boat-only / package range where 6 weeks is the right balance between affordability and getting on the water.

Ready to give it a try?

WavePay is live on every product page — pick your hull, choose WavePay (4 fortnightly payments) at checkout, enter your card once, and we'll handle the rest.

• See how WavePay works →
• Browse the boat range →
• Read the Order & Refund Policy →

Questions? Call the team on +61 2 4335 1603 or email sales@easyinflatables.com.au — we'll walk you through it before you commit a cent.