PayPal is getting into point-of-sale financing. This is a tool that allows you to pay for an item in instalments rather than putting it on your credit card. It has been growing in popularity, and the pandemic has driven its use to rise even more steeply.
Two companies, namely Afterpay (Australia) and Affirm (USA) have been thriving in this sector. For example, Afterpay, whose entire business is staked on the scheme, has sailed from a market valuation of $1 billion in 2018 to $18 billion today, and Affirm is planning an IPO that could fetch $10 billion.
Now PayPal is squeezing itself into the space with its new ‘Pay in 4’ product. This will allow you to pay for any items that cost between $30 and $600 in four instalments over six weeks.
It promises to be slightly less expensive to use than the other two companies mentioned. It won’t charge interest to the consumer or an additional fee to the retailer, but if you’re late on a payment, you’ll pay a fee of up to $10.
It’s OK for PayPal to do this, because it already has a highly profitable payments network it can leverage. As Jeff Kauflin says, “Eighty percent of the top 100 retailers in the U.S. let customers pay with PayPal, and nearly 70% of U.S. online buyers have PayPal accounts.” Not to mention the fact that as Covid-19 made online purchases skyrocket, it saw record revenues of $5.3 billion and profits of $1.5 billion. Its stock has rocketed in value, adding $95 billion of market value over the past six months, and Lisa Ellis, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, told Kauflin, “PayPal can grow 18-19% before it gets out of bed in the morning.”
Why move into point of sale financing?
Data from both Afterpay and PayPal shows that consumers spend more money—sometimes 20% more—when they’re offered point of sale financing options. Therefore, when PayPal launches Pay in 4 this autumn it can expect to see transactions rise. It earns 2.9% on each transaction, so its fee revenues will receive a boost as well.
Kauflin makes a good observation: “With Pay in 4, PayPal’s renewed push into lending is an indication the company is getting more aggressive in a volatile economy where many consumers have fared better than expected so far.” Furthermore, PayPal will house these new loans on its own balance sheet. As its senior vice president Doug Bland says, “We’re incredibly comfortable in managing the credit risk of this.” That is indubitably true.