Affirm plans to maintain Returnly’s operations while also introducing Returnly sellers to its BNPL offering, making it a merchant acquisition tool. Splitit launched a gateway to simplify BNPL enablement. Splitit Plus lets sellers use a single solution for BNPL transactions and card processing at a “competitive rate.”

Notable BNPL-focused firms include Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, QuadPay, Sezzle, and Splitit, while incumbents include the likes of Amex, Chase, Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services have emerged in recent years as more retailers, including Walmart and Macy’s, began offering consumers financing options when checking out.

On today's episode, we discuss how stores will likely shape-shift, what happens to curbside pickup going forward, and how "virtual" shopping experiences are about to get. We then talk about whether "buy now, pay later" is sticking around, Amazon's emerging national grocery chain, and how Walmart+ is doing six months after launch. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer director of forecasting Cindy Liu and analyst at Insider Intelligence Daniel Keyes.

Last year, leading players like Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna accelerated growth by forging major partnerships, increasing in-store reach, and posting massive volume. By March 2021, 55.8% of US consumers had used BNPL technology—up from 37.7% last summer—and top drivers revolved around avoiding credit card debt, per The Motley Fool.

BNPL players globally are pursuing banking products: Last year, Affirm launched its own high-yield savings account in the US, and Australian BNPL player Afterpay rolled out savings accounts to its customers. And this specific category typically targets younger consumers—the same demographic to which neobanks typically cater.

The US market has gotten competitive with payments pure plays like Affirm (which just filed for its IPO), Afterpay, Klarna, Quadpay, Sezzle, and SplitIt inking more partnerships with “etailers.” Established payments companies like American Express, Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa also now offer competing services.

BNPL solutions grew on the backs of firms like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm launching apps, entering into high-profile retail partnerships, and investing big in advertising and marketing. That has created a vast landscape: Insider Intelligence estimated the market was worth between $30 billion and $100 billion in 2019.

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