Uplift set sail with BNPL for Palm Beach mini cruise operator Margaritaville at Sea. Cash-challenged small businesses will have new credit options from Melio to pay vendors and business bills in up to 12 monthly installments. Online learning and marketing platform Thinkific added student BNPL to its payments curriculum.
Kenyan BNPL continues to grow with Mastercard’s financial inclusion efforts and new operators like SpotIit. JD Power research shows tighter lending approvals and increased consumer skepticism about BNPL. Predictive payments can help online merchants and retailers identify risks and predict defaults, resulting in smaller loan losses.
We’re keeping you up-to-date with the latest in global BNPL industry news. Come aboard!
Uplift and Margaritaville at Sea offer travel BNPL options
Uplift set sail with BNPL for Margaritaville at Sea, a Palm Beach mini-cruise company offering 3-day, 2-night offshore vacations from Florida to Grand Bahama Island. Uplift now provides pay-later installment payment plan options for more than 300 airlines, resorts, cruise lines and other travel industry companies worldwide. An interest-free installment plan is available during the program launch. Banking CIO Outlook
Melio offers a small business lifeline with launch of Pay Over Time
Melio announced the launch of Pay Over Time, enabling small businesses to pay vendors and business bills in monthly installments while their suppliers get paid in full and on time. The product, powered by Credit Key, provides eligible small businesses instant access to capital of up to $50,000 through their Melio account. Business owners can pay in net 30 terms or up to 12 equal monthly installments. Cision
Thinkific launches buy now pay later feature with Stripe, empowers creators to scale, boosts sales
Online learning sales platform Thinkific partnered with Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay to offer BNPL payments via Stripe. Students can pay for education over time, while Creators receive immediate payment, allowing Them to reinvest their sales revenues into marketing efforts, increasing growth and expanding their market reach. The Vancouver-headquartered Thinkific has 50,000+ active Creators earning millions of dollars in direct course, membership and community sales. Cision
Mastercard offers BNPL in Kenya in a financial inclusion drive
Mastercard’s strategic partnership with Lipa Later aims to accelerate the expansion of African BNPL)payment services. Kenya has experienced strong economic growth and increased financial inclusion nationally, with about 84% of adults accessing formal financial services. However, most of the population still lacks access to traditional financial services. Soko Directory
BNPL model gains traction in Kenya
Craft Silicon, a Kenyan software firm, is the latest to join the bandwagon with its Spotit product. Unlike other models led by fintechs, the new solution is bank-led. The Buy Now Pay Later payment industry in Kenya has recorded significant growth over the last four quarters, supported by increased e-commerce activity and sales. YouTube
BNPL firms remain unregulated as Britons rack up debt
Estimates suggest one in 10 consumers using BNPL companies such as Klarna and Clearpay end up with debt collectors. No regulatory protection is yet in place by the UK Financial Conduct Agency (FCA). FCA managing director Nikhil Rathi told the Treasury select committee last month there was “harm accruing” while BNPL continues to operate without consumer regulation. He insists FCA is ready to go when the government is “ready to go” protecting consumers. The Guardian
Predictive payments with BNPL solutions
Ricardo Campos from ITSCREDIT says buy now pay later machine learning and data analytics can reduce the risk of credit loss and generate customer loyalty. Retailers and merchants using BNPL see higher average order value, increased conversions, and more customers and loyalty. Using a comprehensive model validation toolkit helps identify risk drivers and predict customer credit defaults. TechnologyRecord
The risks of full automation in lending and what firms can learn from BNPL
There is a love-and-hate relationship with the increasingly popular BNPL loans. The UK govt recently gave financial watchdogs more power to clamp down on the space, and FCA recently affirmed that BNPL heads could face up to two years in jail if they fail to follow financial promotion guidelines. The EU approved new rules to the Consumer Credit Directive that included BNPL, and the US CFPB is looking into regulations while the industry is projected to reach $3.98 trillion by 2030. Fintech Global
Report: Most consumers not sold on benefits of BNPL
While BNPL lenders tighten up on approvals, JD Power reports consumers have mixed feelings about buy now pay later loans as well. Of the 80% of Americans aware of BNPL, 60% said the option is helpful, according to the survey. However, 64% don’t believe using the option improved their financial situation and penalties and late fees don’t create a positive outcome. FOX Business News