Galileo Expands BNPL Offering for Banks and FinTechs

Galileo Financial Technologies has launched an expansion of its buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering.

The company now lets banks and FinTechs offer cardholders new post-purchase installment payment options via their existing debit or credit cards, Galileo said in a news release provided to PYMNTS Tuesday (March 19).

“This new offering bridges the gap between cards and loans and allows banks and FinTechs to establish and deepen customer relationships with innovative, flexible financing options for both credit and debit customers,” said David Feuer, Galileo’s chief product officer.

“By expanding pay over time opportunities, post-purchase financing is ushering in a new era of responsible lending.” 

According to the release, post-purchase BNPL gives FinTechs an entry point into the lending space, while giving them a chance to increase revenue via installment fees. 

And unlike “traditional credit card interest, post-purchase BNPL with installment fees gives consumers the benefit of seeing the total cost associated with each purchase before committing,” Galileo said.

Feuer added that the offering also works with all merchants that accept debit and credit cards.

The expansion is happening at a time when consumers are leveraging BNPL to improve their purchasing power, as noted in the PYMNTS Intelligence/Sezzle collaboration “Declining Purchasing Power Pushes Consumers to Improve Credit Scores.”

The study pointed out that “having a high credit score is pivotal in accessing credit and maintaining purchasing power.” The situation has led many consumers to begin deploying resources such as BNPL to improve their financial standing.

According to the report, 70% of BNPL shoppers said they spent the prior two years increasing their credit limits, and — at the time of the survey was taken — nearly 60% were continuing to do so. Twenty-seven percent of consumers interviewed said they used BNPL specifically to increase their credit limits.

“Those efforts appear to be paying off. Forty-four percent of BNPL shoppers attributed a bump in credit scores to BNPL,” PYMNTS wrote last month. 

“In fact, 29% of BNPL users saw their credit scores increase by more than 100 points over 24 months, which they ascribed to BNPL. Meanwhile, only 21% of average consumers and 20% of average credit card users saw similar spikes in credit scores during the same time period.”