Almost two years after unveiling its program for Visa credit card issuers to get into the fast-growing buy now/pay later industry, the company has introduced a quick-access lane to streamline bank adoption.
The card network has added BNPL to its “Visa Ready” program that operates as a matchmaker between fintechs and card issuers, with turnkey access to about 20 companies Visa has vetted for helping issuers launch BNPL programs through its application programming interfaces.
The card network’s goal is to encourage more banks to venture into the BNPL arena to offer interest-free loans on a per-purchase basis, where fintech-powered players like Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay and PayPal dominate the scene.
BNPL companies in the partner directory include the payments software provider ACI Worldwide, which offers the ACI PayAfter solution connecting merchants with banks; and ChargeAfter, which enables merchants to access multiple BNPL lenders. The bank-technology platform provider FIS, the card-issuing platforms i2c and Marqeta and Cross River Bank are among the others on the list, Visa said.
“We’re extending Visa Ready to BNPL to create an ecosystem of partners who can enable installment loans for issuers at every level globally,” said Arvind Ronta, head of global installments at Visa.
Through Visa Installments,
In the typical Visa Installments API integration, an eligible customer is prompted by an installment offer on their existing card, usually through the bank’s mobile app or account portal.
At the consumer’s request, the issuer uses Visa Installments to generate a virtual card in real time. This virtual account can then be presented to a participating merchant, which receives a full payment.
Visa's global installment-lending solution is in the early stages of adoption with banks, and so far the $6.5 billion-asset Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Missouri, is the only participating U.S. bank Visa has announced, and a few banks in Canada, Australia and Malaysia are already live with it. Ronta said Visa’s research suggests demand is strong.
“We’ve found that most consumers would prefer getting installment loans for purchases using their existing credit credentials, and as consumers get used to seeing this option it will become another financing option they can manage through their phone,” he said.
Compared with certain BNPL services that are online-only, Visa Installments is available in many contexts, including e-commerce, mobile and in stores, Ronta said.
“We’re still in the early stages of BNPL, but what we see ahead is a blurring of the lines where merchants and issuers are going to want the flexibility of being able to extend offers across borders and channels,” he said.
Mastercard, which announced its own
