Stripe and Sunbit Team to Expand BNPL Offerings for In-Person Services

Installment payment FinTech Sunbit says it has launched a collaboration with payments platform Stripe.

The partnership, announced Tuesday (Sept. 24), is designed to bring buy now, pay later (BNPL) offerings to more in-person services, such as auto repair and dental work.

“In today’s financial environment, consumers are often hesitant to accept recommended services while merchants experience more than 50% declines from their customer,” said Oded Vakrat, Sunbit’s vice president of platform partnerships. “Services such as car repair, home repairs, or even paying for an unexpected healthcare bill are postponed by customers due to cost. This partnership brings Sunbit pay-over-time access to merchants processing payments on Stripe, helping them serve more customers.”

Sunbit said its service is offered at more than half of auto service centers across the U.S. and is the fastest-growing financing solution for the dental space. With its integration with Stripe, the company said it can provide more people with flexible payment options for needed services via Stripe’s “significant” merchant network.

“Merchants processing payments on Stripe can make Sunbit technology available to its customers with an easy toggle on their Stripe Dashboard,” the release said. “Businesses such as those offering in-home services, automotive parts, service and repairs, medspa, eyewear, and pet care can now offer their customers a new, flexible way to pay over time while closing sales that may otherwise not have been possible.”

PYMNTS looked at the use of installment payment offerings in the dental care earlier space this year in an interview with Dr. Steven Rasner, DMD, MAGD, of Pearl Smiles, and Ed O’Donnell, CEO of Versatile Credit.

They told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that financing can go a long way toward smoothing the initial conversations between dentists and patients when it comes time to discuss what it all costs — before the treatment is provided.

O’Donnell — whose platform matches lenders and patients to come up with payment terms that stretch out over time — said finance options should be delivered at the point of care, not just as each dentist visit is completed.

“It’s awkward for everyone,” said O’Donnell. “It’s awkward for the patient and is often awkward for the financial person in the office.”

Patients might be concerned about how to pay for these services, with many households already saddled with credit card debt which robs them of wiggle room. But when payments are spread over time, those awkward conversations become much easier, added O’Donnell.