Square has revealed the initial results of the first iteration of its integration with buy now, pay later provider Afterpay, releasing the functionality to sellers using Square Online for e-commerce in the United States and Australia.
The product integation follows Square's $29 billion acquisition of Afterpay, which was completed earlier this week.
Early users Jeannie & Kendall Glenn, owners of Kendall’s Greek Smartwear, says using Afterpay on their Square-powered website has been a huge boost to business.
“Our purchases are nearly 20% larger when shoppers use Afterpay, and we receive earnings instantly in our Square account to keep our business moving," they say. "Our repeat customers appreciate the new BNPL option, especially since they can keep earning points through our Square Loyalty programme, and we’ve been able to engage and convert more new customers than ever before through e-commerce.”
For Square, the acquisition of Afterpay gives it a toehold in the fast growing consumer payments channel. For Square sellers the availability of BNPL appeals directly to the Gen-Z and millennial crowd and is a particularly powerful add-on in Australia, Square’s largest market after the US, where Afterpay has very high awareness and repeat usage.
Nick Molnar, Afterpay co-founder, says: “In joining with Square, Afterpay can now more meaningfully give small and midsize sellers the tools to attract young, engaged shoppers who prefer Afterpay and help these sellers compete alongside businesses of all sizes.”
Sellers can access Afterpay from their Square Online dashboard and opt-in to receive early access to Afterpay now, with automatic enablement rolling out to eligible Square Online sites over the following weeks. Square sellers receive their full earnings from each sale immediately, while consumers pay over four interest-free installments.
“We’re thrilled to offer Afterpay to Square sellers on day one. This is truly just the beginning of what we’ll be able to offer sellers, and their buyers, through this acquisition,” says Alyssa Henry, head of Square. “Our mission is to help sellers never miss a sale, operate more efficiently, better manage cash flow, and improve growth, retention, and acquisition of buyers. Afterpay helps us further this mission. It will also help bring more businesses of all sizes into the Square ecosystem.”
Henry says the next step will be to make Afterpay available on Square’s developer platform and for in-person payments.