Cash App Embeds Afterpay Into App for BNPL

Mobile payments provider Cash App says it has formed a pay later partnership with Afterpay.

Beginning this week, Cash App customers will have access to Afterpay’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering when shopping online at Cash App partner merchants, the companies said in a Monday (March 17) news release.

To mark the collaboration, the companies have formed an “evolved brand,” Cash App Afterpay, with a new logo for their checkout to “expand access to a seamless pay over time experience,” the release added.

“The scale of Cash App’s 57 million monthly actives means our merchant partners benefit from a larger network of customers, and eligible customers gain greater access to simple, fair, and accessible payment options outside of traditional systems,” said Nick Molnar, global head of sales at Cash App parent Block and a co-founder of Afterpay.

“We believe that Cash App Afterpay will not only be an accelerant to Cash App growth, but also an accelerant in the growing preference towards BNPL options in the United States.”

The partnership comes at a time when BNPL companies may find themselves enjoying a boost as Americans increasingly face cash flow pressures, as PYMNTS wrote last week.

“BNPL is popular, particularly among consumers facing financial difficulties,” that report said, citing PYMNTS Intelligence research that found that “consumers who frequently encounter cash flow problems are 3.5 times more likely to use BNPL, with 8.9% of these consumers using it in the past 30 days, compared to just 2.5% of those without the same pressures.”

At the same time, pay-later plans also hold some appeal for people in more secure financial positions, according to additional PYMNTS Intelligence research, showing that 18% of non-paycheck-to-paycheck consumers used these plans primarily for convenience, with 15% also hoping to earn rewards.

“The desire for easy, budget-friendly payment options is impacting how consumers approach large and small purchases,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this month.

A number of consumers, no matter their income level, turned to installment plans to streamline spending and preserve their cash reserves, viewing these plans as an effective way to manage spending without sacrificing immediate needs.

In other BNPL news, industry heavyweight Klarna announced Monday it had formed a partnership with Walmart to offer pay-later options via Walmart’s OnePay service.