Afterpay Launches U.S. In-Store Buy Now, Pay Later Platform

Need to Know

• One of the leaders in buy now, pay later solutions (BNPL), Australian fintech Afterpay is bringing its popular alternative payment solution in-store for U.S. consumers later this month. 
• The payment process will be the same as e-commerce, which launched with select retailers earlier this year and gave consumers the option of payment installations.
• Customers will use Afterpay’s app to sign up for a virtual card which can then be linked to Apple Pay or Google Pay. Once linked customers tap the “card” icon in the app and which opens the linked account in the customers’ virtual wallet. 
• One of the first retailers to roll out the in-store feature is Forever 21, but its free merchant integration could see more retailers utilizing the feature soon. 
• Afterpay’s most recent quarterly performance represented the fintech’s highest ever, indicating an accelerated consumer shift to e-commerce due to the impacts of COVID-19. Afterpay currently has 9.9 million active customers.

Analysis

A surge in popularity in its alternative payment options has Australian fintech Afterpay bringing BNPL in-store for U.S. consumers. Q4 year-end reports show the company with 9.9 million active customers, a 116% year-over-year increase—tempting numbers for retailers trying to bounce back from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Afterpay’s in-store model is already live in Australia and New Zealand and will mirror its e-commerce platform. Customers download the Afterpay app, sign up for a virtual card, sync Apple Pay or Google Pay, and then will be able to pay for purchases in four installments. The service is completely free for consumers who pay on time, and since the service piggybacks on Apple and Google Pay with existing payment terminals there are no merchant integration costs. 

“As we enter the second half of the year and retail re-emerges across the world, it’s critical we help our partners drive business growth, both online and offline,” said Nick Molnar, Afterpay’s co-founder, and U.S. CEO. “As a proven solution for driving incremental sales and new customer growth, we are thrilled to introduce our new omnichannel solution to U.S retailers as they begin to open their doors and bring shoppers back to their physical stores.”

In March, Afterpay selected Marqeta as its U.S. partner and made plans to grow across North America.

“Afterpay helps the world’s best brands connect with a new generation of customers who want to shop in a way that gives them control and the ability to budget their own money,” said Kareem Al-Bassam, CPO for Afterpay when the company expanded to the U.S.

Since then, strong performances across the business have delivered underlying sales of $11.1 billion for FY20 

Buy now, pay later is exploding in popularity right now. Both Mastercard and Visa recently announced partnerships with fintech Splitit to bring buy BNPL tech to the credit card providers suite of products, proving the market for unique payment solutions is always growing.