How Visa Helps FIs Tap the $3T BNPL Market

With buy now, pay later (BNPL) expected to become a $3 trillion business by 2030, payments giant Visa is looking for ways to help banks and other financial institutions (FIs) make the most of a lucrative opportunity.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Arvind Ronta, Visa’s global head of installments/BNPL, said ongoing programs will let traditional FIs and FinTechs transform unused credit lines into BNPL offerings.

He said this will transform any bank or FinTech into a BNPL provider that can underwrite the loans and issuing virtual cards that can be used any place that accepts Visa.

For consumers, installment offers on their credit cards offer an attractive value proposition, as they know and trust the safety and usability of their Visa credentials across online and offline channels, Ronta said.

His company recently went live with its new installments partner portal, Visa Ready for BNPL, following the debut of its credit installment pilot two years ago. The payments network has onboarded at least 20 partners including installments-as-a-service provider Splitit. Visa says the portal will help its partners fast-track implementation and scalability of its BNPL offerings.

“We are supporting all sides of the ecosystem — and enabling them to offer installments — in a seamless way during the purchasing experience,” Ronta said.

Meanwhile, Visa has teamed up with Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, to make BNPL installment payments available to eligible Visa cardholders.

The collaboration makes Air Canada one of the first airlines to take part in the Visa Installments Solution and appears to be the latest example of a growing trend of BNPL becoming part of physical retail locations.

The companies say that by providing greater payment flexibility, the offering will let more Canadians travel domestically and overseas.

For more about what’s happening in the BNPL sector, download your copy of the Buy Now, Pay Later Tracker, a collaboration between PYMNTS and Splitit.