“As prices rise, Americans are increasingly finding new ways to make ends meet. But with some necessary purchases, such as groceries, there are fewer options that don’t involve taking on debt.   That makes the option to pay later — through companies such as Klarna, Zip, Zilch, Affirm and Afterpay — look increasingly attractive. About two-thirds of consumers have worried in the past month about affording groceries due to the rise of inflation, a recent LendingTree survey found. At the same time, Zip said it notched 95% growth in U.S. grocery purchases, according to The New York Times. Klarna reported that more than half of the top 100 items its app users are now buying are grocery or household items.”

“With grocery and food costs at historic highs, more consumers are turning to buy, now, pay later (BNPL) options to pay for their weekly food bill, reports the New York Times. They’re even using these options for smaller purchases such as a coffee or sandwich. One BNPL user told the Times she doesn’t hesitate to use the service for her everyday food purchases. “If I wanted to pick up a coffee on the way home from somewhere and I didn’t have any money in my coffee or eat-out budget, I would push it to next month’s budget,” she said. Philip Belamant, the founder of Zilch, a BNPL company, told the Times that consumers don’t balk at swiping a credit card to buy lunch or coffee. So why shouldn’t they use a pay-later plan, with no interest, for those purchases?”

“The city watchdog has informed buy now, pay later firms such as Klarna and Clearpay that it has seen online ads and posts by social media influencers that break rules by not warning of risks such as taking on unaffordable debt. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has written to companies in the multibillion-pound buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector promising to take action over unfair and misleading promotions, with more consumers looking into using such services as the cost of living soars.”

“Cash, credit card, check. A lot of folks are replacing these with a third-party apps like Venmo, Pay Pal, Cash App, Zelle, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. If you have a side business, it’s an instant way to get paid cash. Now, the IRS  wants to know who is giving you how much, and why. “Those apps are going to be required to report anything over $600 to the IRS and you will get a 1099-K form and you’ll have to report it on your taxes and pay taxes on your income,” said JW DeGance, Jackson Hewitt.”

“Buy now, pay later is often touted as a cheaper alternative to credit cards, but new research shows these platforms can actually end up costing more. BNPL platforms such as Afterpay, Humm and Zip Pay have quickly become a mainstream product in recent years, helping Australians pay for everything from groceries to child care. With the rising cost of living, these services may be more tempting than ever. But they don’t provide money for free.   Curtin University research commissioned by Financial Counselling Australia and released on Thursday shows BNPL fees are effectively a “quasi-interest rate that can be more costly than credit card interest rates”.”

“Forage, a payments processor that makes it easier for grocers to accept SNAP EBT (food stamps) payments online, announced today that the Forage app is now available to all Shopify customers as a means to accept SNAP EBT online. Forage is Shopify’s first payments gateway for SNAP EBT online.”

“Buy-now-pay-later companies have had a rollercoaster ride since they rose to power during the early days of the pandemic. After quickly garnering public attention, BNPL firms came under the scanner for the lack of regulation seen in the sector…Minister Jones highlighted that BNPL services should be considered a part of the credit ecosystem as they serve the same purpose as other products in the segment. Additionally, the BNPL sector continues to dominate the market, with a large share of consumers showing interest in BNPL services. This further intensifies the need for regulatory oversight in the segment.”

“Buy now, pay later services are an increasingly popular way to purchase products online. These services often target young shoppers through social networks and promote the ability to purchase products like clothing or makeup via a small down payment followed by installment payments to cover the difference. But it’s not just physical stuff that you can click to buy and pay in full later. Travel providers have jumped on the trend by partnering with these services, which include Affirm  and Uplift, to let you fund your vacation in small payments — sometimes even after you’ve finished the trip.”

“The subscription economy, which saw huge growth during the pandemic, has started to slow, falling victim to the impact on consumer spending habits of the cost of living crisis. Research by Barclaycard Payments finds that, on average, businesses offering subscriptions estimate nearly two fifths (36%) of their revenue has been generated from these sales over the past 12 months, an 11% year-on-year uplift. However, with footfall on high streets returning to pre-pandemic levels as consumers’ lives get back to ‘normal’, the growth of the subscription economy has begun to decline, with Barclaycard proprietary data showing a 5.7% fall in subscription spending in May 2022 when compared to May 2021….On average, UK consumers have cancelled two agreements each, with entertainment platforms (17%) and beauty and grooming kits (nine%) among the categories most likely to have been cut back on. The number of households signed up to subscriptions has dipped by 14% points in a year, from 81% to 67%.”

“Buy Now, Pay Later installment plans have become popular among consumers seeking to spread out the cost of big-ticket purchases. But now, rising prices have some cash-strapped shoppers reaching for these alternative payment methods for everyday purchases, such as their daily coffee, gas station fill-up or grocery run, as well. That’s a concern for economists and consumer advocates, who say the surge in the use of these services, coupled with a lack of transparency and little regulatory oversight, leaves them wondering just how much debt Americans are actually getting into.”

“Zilch, a London-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform, announced on Thursday that it has secured an additional $50M (approximately €48M) in an Series C extended round of funding… The UK company will use the funds to accelerate business growth, particularly in the US, where it has opened a new office in Miami and has 150,000 pre-registered customers.  The funding announcement follows the recent news that BNPL firms are set to face regulation in the UK as HM Treasury sets out a framework for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to review the sector. Zilch was an integral part of the Sandbox programme from inception, during which it worked closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and was one of the UK’s first BNPL providers to be granted an FCA licence to perform regulated Consumer Credit activities.”

“Openpay Group, an Australian buy-now-pay-later (BNPL)firm, has halted operations in the United States four months after describing it as its main growth market, the latest casualty among consumer finance startups as rising interest rates bite. Investment in an “Americanised” platform caused Openpay’s losses to widen 65% in the first half and the company had wanted an investor to help fund its U.S. expansion. But current economic and market conditions and “the likely ongoing capital investment required,” has forced Openpay to stop extending loans and cut most of its U.S. unit’s staff, it said in a statement. The BNPL business model emerged out of a very low interest rate environment which enabled the industry to raise funds at relatively low cost and offer point-of-sale loans to customers on online shopping websites.”

Credova, a leading Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform announced a new partnership with the American Sportfishing Association (ASA). The partnership allows manufacturers and retail members of the ASA an opportunity to gain access to Credova’s BNPL option built for outdoor recreation. Credova features a popular four payments, no interest product, as well as long duration installment loans.

“Some shoppers say “buy now, pay later” may not be all it’s cracked up to be. After experiencing explosive growth during the pandemic — spending on BNPL in the U.S. soared 230% since the start of 2020 — the hype around installment buying is fading as costs for everyday items rise and consumers dial back on discretionary purchases.   Although 45 million shoppers embraced installment purchases last year alone, some have a case of buyer’s remorse, especially if they’ve shelled out more than they can afford or are struggling to keep track of multiple loans. Nearly 70% of buy now, pay later users admit to spending more than they would if they had to pay for everything upfront, according to a survey from LendingTree. As a result, 23% of consumers said they’ve regretted financing a purchase this way, LendingTree found.”

“Bank of America has launched a new solution, which enables companies with frequent payments to consumers to provide their beneficiaries with the ability to choose how they want to be paid. Called Recipient Select, the solution addresses complexities that companies grapple with related to the growth of business-to-consumer payments, including the proliferation of consumer payment options and increasing expectations for faster and streamlined user experiences.”

“PNC Treasury Management today announced it has expanded its payment offerings by adding push-to-debit card capabilities, called Direct to Debit Card. This addition to PNC’s payment ecosystem provides businesses with the option to send consumers payments 24/7, 365 days a year through an eligible debit card…Built through a collaboration between PNC and Visa, through Visa’s real-time push payments platform, Visa Direct; Direct to Debit Card looks to bridge the gap in business-to-consumer payments by providing businesses with an easy, convenient way to pay consumers without using bank account numbers or third-party payment apps.”

“ACI’s UP Real-Time Payments solution provides BMO with connectivity to real-time payment networks from a single hub, which allows the bank to deliver faster and more efficient payment experiences for customers. In addition, BMO has also deployed Zelle, which allows businesses to capitalize on real-time B2C payments using a consumer’s email address or U.S. mobile phone number.”

“Citi’s new service will offer merchants a range of consumer payment options to collect money, including from credit cards and e-wallets, the company said. This will expand its product portfolios within its mainstay business-to-business (B2B) payment offerings.”

“Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, announced today that insurance technology startup Benekiva has added digital payment capabilities to their software as a service (SaaS) platform for life insurance companies. With this addition Benekiva has enabled a completely digital claims process, driving efficiency for insurers and significantly reducing the time to transfer funds to beneficiaries.”