Fiserv to simplify how businesses enable Buy Now, Pay Later

By Edlyn Cardoza

Businesses of all sizes will be able to simplify the enablement of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options with streamlined access via commerce systems from Fiserv, Inc., a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions.

Fiserv currently offers BNPL services to merchants through relationships with Bread, Synchrony and Zip and recently announced a new relationship with Affirm, which will be the first BNPL option fully integrated into the Carat℠ operating system.

With numerous popular BNPL options now available, many businesses are enabling flexible payment options for the first time or growing the number of BNPL options available to their customers. While the availability of more BNPL options adds convenience for customers, it can create complexity for businesses.

Fiserv is addressing this complexity through the direct integration of BNPL options, enabling businesses that utilise the Carat omnichannel commerce system for large enterprises and the Clover point-of-sale and business management system for small and mid-sized businesses to easily select and efficiently deploy in-store and online BNPL options that best suit their business needs and customer preferences. Allowing businesses to enable BNPL options via a single technology stack will significantly reduce the time and costs of new technology build.

“Businesses want to meet consumer demand for buy now, pay later options, and we’re seeing increased interest from larger businesses that want to offer multiple BNPL options and from small and mid-size businesses that have not previously been able to offer these services,” said Mark Hennin, senior vice president and Head of Value-Added Services at Fiserv. “By enabling our clients to easily connect to the BNPL providers of their choice, we will make it possible for them to offer their customers in-demand payment options in an easy to manage, cost-effective way.”

Fiserv will enable businesses leveraging Carat solutions to connect with BNPL options via their existing technology integration with the Carat API.

For example, Affirm, the payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth, will be the first BNPL option fully integrated into the Carat operating system. Later this year, enterprise merchant clients that utilise Carat and want to add Affirm as a payment option for their customers will be able to seamlessly offer the complete suite of Affirm products via a simplified onboarding experience.

“Roughly half of U.S. consumers, and three-fourths of millennials, will not complete a purchase if a retailer does not offer pay-over-time at checkout, according to a recent Affirm survey,” said Geoff Kott, Chief Revenue Officer at Affirm. “By partnering with Fiserv, a payments and fintech leader with broad reach, we look forward to enabling more merchants to seamlessly offer Affirm at checkout. In doing so, merchants will be able to reach new customers and increase sales, while responsibly expanding consumers’ purchasing power through the flexibility and control our solutions offer.”