Our take on what BNPL, cryptos, super apps, and global digital expansion will look like in 2022—and what that means for key stakeholders.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services are more popular among younger generations: 26% of US adults ages 34 and under regularly use these financing solutions, compared with just 8% of those 55 and older.

Major marketing campaigns are raising awareness of buy now, pay later (BNPL) among consumers and are going into overdrive for the holidays.

Increasing competition in the realm of point-of-sale installment plans will push existing buy now, pay later firms to diversify their offerings and target consumers beyond the existing core of Gen Z and millennial users.

Growth will come from Gen Z’s interest in buy now, pay later (BNPL) and incumbents’ push to outspend and outinnovate competitors.

Brazil-based credit startup Open Co, India’s BNPL card fintech Uni, and cannabis card provider SuperNet are all meeting unmet payment needs.

Kueski offers consumer installment lending in Mexico, and Nigeria-based TradeDepot offers B2B BNPL for online merchants.

The firm said that active merchant growth was driven mostly by Shopify merchants adopting Shop Pay Installments, Shopify’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution powered by Affirm. Customer engagement. Affirm said that 81% of transactions in Q3 were from repeat customers. This reflects Affirm’s strong brand loyalty, something that may have been more complicated to secure as BNPL competition ratcheted up.

7 observations from Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2021: Buy Now Pay Later, SMS Marketing, BOPIS are highlights in an uneven holiday season.

A roster of big fintechs use its embedded services, which span crypto (Coinbase) to buy now, pay later (Affirm), and payments support (Stripe). Cross River pitches itself as a technology provider that shoulders compliance on its customers’ behalf. It offers BaaS for demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, and credit and debit cards.

Buy now, pay later gains popularity—and new providers—as customers resume in-store shopping this holiday season.

Usage of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services has soared across generations in the US, especially among Gen Z.

More US consumers than ever say they aren’t spending on the holidays: The expected rebound in holiday shopping hides the fact that many consumers are keeping their wallets closed, while others are turning to buy now, pay later plans for gifts they can’t afford.

Block is already experimenting with integrations like a search function that lets Cash App users discover BNPL offers and Afterpay merchants, which could give the BNPL provider more visibility. Block may also bring Cash App to new markets—it's already live in the UK, where Dorsey says there’s been “steady growth.”

The BNPL giant will also bring the Klarna Card stateside—both payment features are already available in Europe.

By the numbers: US-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Affirm reported a 115% year over year (YoY) surge in gross merchandise volume (GMV) for its fiscal Q2 2022 quarter (ended December 31, 2021), per its earnings supplement—up strongly from the previous quarter. The number of active consumers soared 150% YoY, compared with a 97% increase in fiscal Q1.

Lockdowns, online shopping, and fear of germs during the pandemic have hastened the shift toward all types of digital payments. As a result, Gen Z has fully embraced electronic wallet services, contactless payments, peer-to-peer payment apps, and digital uses of credit, including buy now, pay later.

BNPL adoption is rising: The number of US BNPL users is expected to grow 31.4% year over year (YoY) in 2022, per our forecasts.