A PYMNTS survey shows that most users of standalone BNPL services are interested in bank-backed versions—including customers of the biggest standalone players.

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.

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

Zip’s preholiday shopping event clocked stellar numbers, but diversification and increased credit card use might challenge BNPL growth.

The UK neobank is the latest to join the hot and crowded installment-payments space—and cross-promotion to its 5 million users could ramp it up quickly.

The UK-based neobank is looking to do buy now, pay later (BNPL) trials in Europe next year—and it could quickly find a following within its large customer base.

Both companies introduced customer-facing solutions and merchant tools and expanded partnerships to make their products more attractive as economic tailwinds die down and competition heats up.

The UK neobank wants to broaden its presence in Australia, including adding the ability to receive deposits. It’s got a decent shot at breaking through, but it needs to offer its full product suite to impress consumers.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) now requires entrants to offer income-producing products, like loans, and to have an exit plan. This will scare off some neobanks—but those that have launched, or are about to, may benefit.

NAB’s Citigroup deal bulks it up further as Afterpay/Square looms: The Australian banking giant’s unsecured loan book will get a big boost from the proposed deal. That and a platform upgrade adds even more heft to NAB in any face-off against Afterpay and Square.

On today's episode, we discuss what brands are doing at the Olympics, when time spent on digital video might equal linear, Google's new privacy timeline, the significance of Square buying Afterpay, why marketers must start thinking in 3D, how to individually achieve “perfect productivity,” and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer director of reports editing Rahul Chadha, analyst Blake Droesch, and principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna.

The deal for the buy now, pay later provider, worth about $29B, hands Square an opportunity to roll out a consumer-side neobank in the US and to straddle two neobanking segments in Australia.

Square’s unexpected purchase is set to shake up the buy now, pay later (BNPL) space while also opening up cross-selling opportunities for the payments giant, helping it to maintain its edge over top rival PayPal.

The top 3 buy now, pay later platforms

The banking giant will build out its buy now, pay later footprint by creating two key roles within its Marcus direct bank—and its ambitions could add prospects for its upcoming checking account.

This fall, US consumers will be able to use Afterpay’s app to shop at popular retailers even if those stores don’t have a partnership with the BNPL provider, helping it capitalize on a lucrative market and fostering increased customer engagement.

More than 45 million people ages 14 and older in the US will use buy now, pay later (BNPL) services this year, according to our inaugural user forecast for these financing options. That’s up 81.2% over 2020, and the age range of BNPL users will widen over the coming years as well.

Afterpay and Klarna affirm their dominance

For some time now, consumers have been moving toward demanding more frictionless payment methods across online and offline channels. The social distancing and sanitizing practices brought on by the pandemic proved to be the push that encouraged many consumers to try proximity mobile payments (paying for goods using a mobile phone as a physical POS) for the first time. Ecommerce retailers, not to be outdone, are finding ways to improve their transactions as well.