Afterpay partners with Stripe to offer BNPL payments for merchants

By Pavithra R

Afterpay, a leading “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) service provider, has announced partnering with Stripe, a provider of economic infrastructure for the internet.

Under the partnership, the companies will join forces to offer Afterpay’s payment service to Stripe merchants through an easy and seamless integration. The alliance allows both new and existing Stripe merchants to offer Afterpay, giving shoppers the opportunity to receive their items swiftly and pay in 4 instalments, without needing to take a traditional loan or pay upfront fees or interest.

“Stripe is delighted to partner with Afterpay to make it easy and fast for online businesses to offer their customers Buy Now, Pay Later. We’ve seen strong demand from users around the world for flexible payment options, and this partnership gives businesses on Stripe an effective tool for capturing more sales and reaching new customers,” said Noah Pepper, Stripe’s Business Lead for APAC.

The firms have announced that businesses on Stripe can start accepting Afterpay immediately, there’s no application, onboarding, or underwriting process to get started.

“Millennial and Gen Z consumers are demonstrating a clear preference for flexible payment options that allow them to budget and spend responsibly. By partnering with Stripe and Squarespace, we’re equipping retailers with the tools to meet this consumer demand – offering the younger generation a way to use their own money and pay over time, always free of interest,” said Ben Pressley, Afterpay’s SVP of Global Sales Strategy and Operations.

Afterpay and Stripe are also extending the payment service to e-commerce platforms. Squarespace, an all-in-one website building platform being the first platform to leverage the partnership and offer Afterpay to its customers. The firm is enabling merchants to easily build a fully integrated checkout experience, while maintaining the look and feel of their brand. The service is available to Commerce customers in the US, Australia and New Zealand and will be soon launched in Canada. 

“Afterpay has been a top requested feature from our customers. Through this partnership, we’re glad to be able to offer our merchants even more flexibility in how they transact with their customers and increase topline sales without having to sacrifice the design elements that are unique to their brand,” said Paul Gubbay, Chief Product Officer at Squarespace.

Stripe merchants in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand can now integrate Afterpay. The service will be soon available to merchants in Canada.

Founded in 2017, Afterpay has transformed the way people pay by allowing shoppers to receive products immediately and pay in four simple installments over a short period of time. The firm first introduced its in-store solution in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) in 2016. According to company data, as of Sept 30, 2020, Afterpay is offered by nearly 63,000 of the world’s favourite retailers and is used by more than 11 mn active customers globally.