Thredd Says BNPL Growth Driven by Convenience, Flexibility and Transparency

Payments processor Thredd said Thursday (Oct. 10) that it saw year-over-year transaction growth of 20% in the third quarter amid growing demand for buy now, pay later (BNPL), B2B payments and specialty travel programs.

“These results are a direct result of listening very carefully to our clients and responding to their needs with a commitment to serve,” Thredd CEO Jim McCarthy said in a Thursday earnings release.

BNPL is seeing strong adoption in several regions, with Thredd’s clients in the United Kingdom, Europe and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region experiencing combined transaction volume growth of 48%, according to the release.

“These solutions are transforming the financial landscape by offering consumers across the globe convenient, flexible and transparent alternatives to traditional credit products,” McCarthy said in the release.

B2B payments increasingly involve virtual cards, with Thredd reporting that B2B card-based transactions in APAC increased by 110% during the quarter.

“Our APAC clients are innovating at pace and their customers are rapidly embracing virtual cards to facilitate B2B payments, especially transactions that cross borders,” McCarthy said in the release.

In the travel sector, Thredd saw year-over-year transaction growth of 27%, with payouts to providers within the online travel agent (OTA) ecosystem leading the way.

McCarthy attributed the growth in this sector in part to FinTechs that “bring value to previously underserved consumer and business segments.”

Thredd sees a “ton of demand in 2025 for B2B” as virtual cards are used more frequently, McCarthy told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in an interview posted Oct. 3.

McCarthy added that remittance and BNPL continue to be strong growth areas.

Looking ahead, McCarthy said that merchants’ payment needs will move beyond cards to pay-by-bank options.

“You’ve got to think broadly about where all this is headed,” McCarthy said in the interview. “If you’re not prepared for this, you will be disrupted.”

Consumers who are served by FinTechs want seamless experiences when it comes to payments, Thredd Chief Technology Officer Edwin Poot told PYMNTS in an interview posted in September.

“The evolution of the cloud and cloud computing over the years has allowed technology overall to evolve faster,” enabling businesses like Thredd’s partner firms to move more quickly to embrace change, Poot said.