The growing and increasingly competitive BNPL space has seen a number of BNPL platforms joined forces with retailers and merchant partners worldwide to expand their operations. The popularity of the installment financing options has grown so much recently that even Consumer Banks and airlines in the United States have entered into a strategic partnership with BNPL players to take on the segment together.
US Consumer Bank teams with BNPL platform
According to PayNXT360’s Q4 2020 BNPL Survey, BNPL payment in the country is expected to grow by 39.7% on annual basis to reach US$ 35314.9 million in 2021. Medium to long term growth story of BNPL industry in United States remains strong. The BNPL payment adoption is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 13.0% during 2021-2028. The BNPL Gross Merchandise Value in the country will increase from US$ 25272.2 million in 2020 to reach US$ 83248.4 million by 2028.
Nearly 35% of the consumers in the United States are using buy now, pay later service. As consumers become more comfortable with the flexible payment options and transparency, these numbers are expected to rise even more in short to medium term. Barclays entered into a strategic partnership with BNPL platform Amount to provide its merchants with point-of-sale (POS) installment financing options to ripe benefits of the growing market.
Using Amount’s financial platform, Barclays is entering into the BNPL segment. These point-of-sale installment financing options will offer Barclays merchant partners a solution that has been designed to build customer loyalty and drive sales. While Barclays is the first consumer banking player to team up with the BNPL platform, the growing adoption of installment financing options means that more consumer banks will soon follow suit.
The BNPL segment represents a small slice of the credit market and still has a long journey when stacked up against options such as credit cards. However, it is a segment that is growing rapidly, especially among younger consumers. Barclays is, therefore, looking at the BNPL segment as an attractive growth market.
Pay for flights in installment
Buy now, pay later service provider, Uplift has entered into a strategic partnership with major US carrier, Southwest Airlines. With the declining coronavirus cases and nationwide vaccination program, there has been a strong pent-up demand for air travel in the United States.
This collaboration between Southwest Airlines and Uplift will allow consumers to pay for their flights in a convenient installment financing option. The buy now, pay later provider has joined forces with 16 airlines including Southwest Airlines. PayNXT360 expects similar partnerships between BNPL players and airlines globally, once the case count declines and vaccination programs are ramped up around the world.
Beauty brands joining forces with BNPL providers to expand consumer base
With brick-and-mortar stores reopening around the world, the availability of in-store BNPL services can significantly support economic recovery. Retailers in the United States and other countries have released that providing consumers with alternative financing options is a crucial factor for success.
In April 2021, the US-based luxury beauty retailer, Bluemercury joined forces with Klarna to provide flexible payment solutions to its consumers. The buy now, pay later service is now available across 183 Bluemercury stores across the United States as well as on the online platform. With millennials and Gen Z consumers planning to shop more in-store once the coronavirus vaccine is available for the masses, this partnership with Klarna will help Bluemercury drive more sales in their stores.
Apart from Bluemercury, Klarna’s buy now, pay later service is also available with other beauty brands such as Rare Beauty and Sephora in the United States.
PayPal teaming up with Chrissy Teigen to offer buy now, pay later
As a way to help its partner merchant drive conversion, improve customer loyalty and increase revenue, PayPal launched Pay in 4, a pay later solution in August 2020. Ever since the launch of the Pay in 4 payment option, the average order value for retailers offering buy now, pay later option has increased 39% as compared to regular transactions.
To expand its operation, PayPal has been partnering with retailers and merchants around the world to incorporate its BNPL services. In April 2021, PayPal partnered with Chrissy Teigen, allowing the online retailer to provide buy now, pay later services to its customer. In times when customer engagement has become a priority for brands, using PayPal’s innovative payment technology will help Chrissy Teigen grow the brand more quickly.
PayPal and Paidy collaborated to offer international BNPL trasaction
In a first of its kind, Japanese buy now, pay later platform, Paidy has joined forces with PayPal to roll out a unique payment solution, Paidy Link. The strategic partnership between PayPal and Paidy will allow buy now, pay later account holders in Japan to shop internationally using their digital wallet.
Currently, Paidy is in collaboration with more than 700,000 online merchants in Japan. However, this partnership with PayPal allows its consumers to shop from 29 million merchants globally. Going forward, the buy now, pay later provider is expected to partner with more merchants to expand its operations beyond the borders of Japan.
Atome launched buy now, pay later services in Malaysia
In April 2021, Atome, the buy now, pay later firm from Singapore has launched its services in Malaysia. The company partnered with more than 100 retailers in Malaysia to expand its installment financing option. Through this expansion, consumers in Malaysia can enjoy installment payment options for in-store and online purchases. The partnership with Atome will also provide businesses in Malaysia with economic recovery by offering flexible payment solutions and an enhanced shopping experience as the world moves beyond the global pandemic.
Affirm enters into a strategic partnership with Ulla Johnson
Affirm is another BNPL provider that has recently partnered with retailers to expand its operations. The company entered into a strategic partnership with Ulla Johnson in April 2021.
While not all Ulla Johnson customers will be eligible to use the flexible payment options offered by Affirm, those qualified will be able to make purchases through Ulla’s website. Moreover, apart from Ulla Johnson, Affirm has a similar strategic partnership with over 8000 retailers, including Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.
Adyen and Afterpay team up to boost operations
In a similar strategic partnership, Adyen and Afterpay combined forces to offer BNPL services to retailers in the United Kingdom. Under this partnership, Adyen aims to make higher price point items more accessible for consumers while increasing the basket size for retailers. In addition, Adyen is also aiming to increase the number of repeat customers while achieving higher customer satisfaction.
Other similar strategic partnerships
In a similar strategic partnership in the buy now, pay later segment, Sezzle has joined forces with Shop.com to offers its BNPL flexible payment solution to millions of shoppers, checking out on Shop.com. Additionally, in April 2021, Quadpay has partnered with ChargeAfter, it provides its BNPL services to the merchant network of Quadpay.
Conclusion
The BNPL segment still represents a small slice of the credit market and has a long journey compared to other payment options such as credit cards. However, it is a segment with profound growth opportunities. PayNXT360 anticipates that this definite upswing in the BNPL segment will further accelerate going forward as both BNPL providers and retailers continue to offer flexible payment solutions to their customers.
