Beyond Credit Cards: How ‘Pay Later’ Momentum Is Reshaping the Payments Ecosystem

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) isn’t just a niche payment option anymore — it’s rapidly becoming a permanent fixture in how consumers budget, shop and pay, according to five industry leaders whose insights preview the new eBook, “Reimagining Consumer Finance: The Strategic Rise of Buy Now, Pay Later.”

Max Levchin, founder and CEO of Affirm, sees the sector evolving into a trusted, ubiquitous service — similar to how American Express became a household name in credit. In his view, consumers value BNPL’s predictability and sense of control over repayment more than the ability to borrow. Affirm’s model, Levchin says, focuses on clarity: “Our appeal is not that it’s some cool way of borrowing money,” but that it eliminates late fees and hidden costs while boosting merchants’ conversion rates and average transaction values.

Ed O’Donnell, CEO of Versatile Credit, highlights how economic headwinds have increased demand for pay-later financing.

“People want certainty — especially in an environment where things are a bit uncertain,” O’Donnell notes. Versatile Credit connects merchants with multiple lenders, enabling them to offer short-term and promotional financing that appeals to cost-conscious consumers, especially younger shoppers wary of high interest rates. Larger retailers once dominated this space, but O’Donnell has observed smaller merchants embracing BNPL to stay competitive and increase sales.

From a technology standpoint, Todd Pollak, chief revenue officer at Marqeta, believes modernizing outdated payment infrastructure is driving BNPL’s explosive growth.

“Even the networks and their operating procedures are based on code from 50, 60 years ago,” Pollak says. Marqeta’s application programming interface (API)-driven platform supports BNPL’s real-time capabilities and seamless integrations with digital wallets. This reduces merchant friction, Pollak adds, which remains a key hurdle. Regulatory scrutiny is inevitable, but centralizing risk management and compliance within technology platforms can help BNPL providers stay ahead of new rules.

Meanwhile, Mastercard is embedding installments directly into its global network, explains Seema Chibber, the company’s executive vice president for Core Payments in North America. Chibber sees BNPL as a “core capability” rather than a side offering, pointing to heightened consumer demand for installment-based flexibility across all types of transactions — from eCommerce to healthcare. By partnering with both FinTechs and traditional financial institutions, Mastercard aims to provide a universal framework that makes BNPL seamless for merchants.

“We’ve literally seen an explosion in the preference for installments,” Chibber says, underlining the demand for control and transparency.

Finally, Nandan Sheth, CEO of Splitit, believes the market is fragmenting as consumers seek new BNPL models and banks enter the space. Splitit’s approach leverages existing credit lines for interest-free installments, a strategy Sheth says fosters loyalty while preserving credit card rewards.

He notes that large banks are looking to partner with orchestrators like Splitit, smoothing integration and offering a unified point-of-sale experience. Sheth also points to Klarna’s success in evolving from a mere financing tool into a consumer shopping hub as a sign that BNPL’s future lies in more than just splitting payments — it’s about capturing and retaining consumer attention.

Collectively, these five perspectives paint a picture of a rapidly maturing BNPL industry poised for mainstream adoption — and they form the foundation of our new eBook, which delves deeper into how installment-based payments may shape the future of retail, banking and beyond.