Square Carves Out Piece of UK BNPL Space With Clearpay

Square has launched its first integration with buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Clearpay in the U.K., the payments company announced Tuesday (Aug. 23).

According to a news release, the move offers BNPL functionality to online and eCommerce merchants and marks the U.K. as the first market where the company has launched BNPL across all platforms at once.

Square acquired Afterpay — as Clearpay is known outside of Europe and the U.K. — in January of this year. The company says its integration with Clearpay lets Square sellers in the U.K. offer a BNPL solution that allows customers to pay in four interest-free installments over six weeks, while merchants get paid right away.

See also: Square Afterpay Acquisition Closes, Sellers Can Now Offer BNPL

“For online purchasing, Clearpay will now be embedded as a payment option within Square Online’s checkout system, giving sellers the opportunity to improve their average purchase size, increase basket conversion and attract more customers,” the release said.

Sellers can accept Clearpay in-person at checkout using any Square point of sale software: Square Point of Sale, Square Appointments, Square for Retail and Square for Restaurants.

“The integration across platforms furthers our goal to give sellers of all sizes omnichannel tools that help them to grow by meeting consumer shopping habits, whatever and wherever they are,” said Alyssa Henry, head of Square. “Clearpay provides our ecosystem with a new tool beyond an alternative payment method; it enables an omnichannel commerce solution that can offer true value to our sellers.”

Learn more: 71% of Affluent BNPL Users Increased Their Use in Last 12 Months

The launch comes at a time when BNPL continues to remain a popular tool among shoppers, as recent PYMNTS research has found, spreading to higher-end sectors of the economy.

And this movement is also attracting older and more affluent demographics that would not have considered this option in the past.

More than 46% of baby boomers and seniors increased their use of BNPL in the past 12 months year and 71% of BNPL users whose incomes are higher than $100,000 and who used BNPL options in the last year increased their use in the same time period.

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