““The reality is the BNPL provider’s bad debts are astronomical, none of them have made a profit, none of them have paid a divided and share prices are down 70 to 80 to even 90 per cent in some cases.” Afterpay reported a $156.3 million loss for the last financial year, which was up by almost 700 per cent compared to the previous year’s loss. Rival BNPL service Zip also reported a $652 million loss, a whopping 3000 per cent increase on last year, where it had announced a $20 million deficit.”

“New data revealed by Splitit (ASX:SPT,OTCQX: SPTTY ) indicates a closer correlation between credit cards and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) as 60% of consumers would prefer to use a BNPL option with existing credit cards versus opening new lines of credit. The survey also showed most consumers prefer making monthly over bi-weekly payments and prefer longer terms, especially for larger purchases. Additionally, 64% of consumers anticipate their credit card spending to be the same or more than they did in 2021.”

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned last month that it was probing the burgeoning industry, which it said charges merchants between 3% and 6% of a purchase price every time a consumer uses the options at checkout. As part of the inquiry, the agency ordered Klarna and many of its top rivals to submit information about industry practices and risks.    “As competitive forces pressure the merchant discount, lenders will need to find other sources of revenue to maintain growth and profitability,” the CFPB said last month. “The bureau would like to better understand practices around data collection, behavioral targeting, data monetization and the risks they may create for consumers.””

“Spain’s Santander (SAN.MC) announced on Wednesday the launch Zinia, a new buy now, pay later platform it plans to roll out across its markets this year, starting in the Netherlands and Spain. The initiative is part of a wider strategy by European lenders aimed at boosting their revenues as they struggle with low interest rates while trying to fend off competition from technology firms. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services have exploded in popularity in tandem with the acceleration in e-commerce during the pandemic.”

“Swedish fintech firm Klarna is embedding its “buy now, pay later” service into a physical card in the U.K. The company on Wednesday announced the launch of Klarna Card, a Visa card that lets users delay payments on their purchases, both in-store as well as online.   The card is already available in Sweden and Germany, where it is now used by over 800,000 people, according to Klarna. This is the first time it has arrived in a country outside the European Union. The company has been expanding aggressively in the U.K. and America.”

“Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM), the payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth, today announced the launch of two significant additions to its product suite: the Affirm SuperApp and Chrome browser extension . Affirm’s new SuperApp delivers the best of Affirm’s shopping, payments, and financial services in one easy-to-use destination. The new Google Chrome browser extension allows consumers to use Affirm’s flexible and transparent payment solutions at virtually any retailer’s website, even if Affirm isn’t listed as being available at checkout.”

“Mastercard has expanded Mastercard Installments, its unique and innovative Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) program that delivers greater choice at checkout, both in-store and online, to consumers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. The BNPL program will meet growing consumer demand for flexible, digital-first payment options, and support the region’s e-commerce ecosystem through a new program focused on providing consumers choice.”

“Experian (EXPN.L) sees growing demand for its services in the booming buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector as it adds more clients to the unit, the world’s largest credit data firm said on Friday after a strong third quarter. BNPL is a segment that is becoming more mainstream and Experian’s clients are demanding the company’s services to know whether an applicant is real or fraudulent, Chief Communication Officer Nadia Ridout-Jamieson told Reuters.”

“Verifone, a global FinTech leader and payment solution provider to the world’s best-known retail brands, and Affirm, the payment network that empowers consumers and helps merchants drive growth, today announce a new partnership that will make Affirm’s transparent and flexible payment options widely available on Verifone’s eCommerce and card-present payment solutions. The partnership will enable merchants to offer their customers the ability to pay at their own pace using Affirm online and in-store, reinforcing Verifone’s commitment to staying ahead of market trends and meeting merchant and consumer needs in the ever-evolving payment space.”

“Banking-as-a-service platform Railsbank has built a white label BNPL product that enables retailers to escape the clutches of shopping apps like Klarna and build their own branded buy now, pay later programmes. Available to retailers in the UK and Germany this year, the BNPL pakage enables retailers to provide their own branded instalment financing online and in-store.”

“Zilch, the London-based unicorn Fintech announced today that it has expanded its partnership with Mastercard to bring Zilch’s popular over-the-top buy now, pay later (BNPL) digital card offering to Europe and enable deferred purchases across the EU.  Zilch’s digital card is currently available in the UK and has already reached over 1.7 million customers in less than 15 months – record time within the BNPLindustry. Today’s announcement will see Zilch accelerate its international growth across Europe. Enabling Mastercard payments Europe-wide supports Zilch’s mission to empower customers to shop anywhere, anytime using its unique BNPL solution with no hidden costs, interest or fees.”

“Apexx Global is bringing its payments orchestration and processing platform to the US as it bids to take advantage of the country’s fast-growing BNPL market. Founded in 2016, Apexx combines acquirers, gateways, shopping carts, alternative payments methods and now BNPL products into a single API connection, easing the efforts of merchants to offer a complete one-stop shop option for consumer payments.”