According to The Verge, Square announced it will pay $29 billion for Afterpay stock. This Australian service allows you to pay your purchases over time without interest and lets you pay in full. Square, headed by Jack Dorsey (the founder of Twitter), has already bought a majority stake at Tidal and launched a new Bitcoin company in 2021.Square described Afterpay as "the pioneering global BNPL platform" in a press release. Afterpay claims that it serves nearly 100,000 resellers in retail markets such as fashion, homewares and beauty.Square's Brian Grassadonia stated that "Afterpay will be added to Cash App, strengthening our growing networks of consumers worldwide, and supporting consumers with flexible, responsible payments options." "Afterpay will strengthen and consolidate the connections between our Cash App ecosystems and Seller ecosystems and increase our ability to offer rich commerce capabilities to Cash App users."Like other BNPL services like Affirm, Klarna, and Uplift, Afterpay allows customers to pay over time, without interest. They charge retailers a fee (4-6%) to make money. In return, they promise to connect them to a desired demographic and take all the risk. Afterpay stated in a press release that it could help "drive repeat sales [and] increase average transaction size."Apple, one of the largest retailers in the world, is said to be launching a buy now, pay later program. Apple Pay in 4", which is similar to PayPal's "Pay in 4", would allow Apple Wallet users the ability to spread purchases out over four payments, and all of this interest-free. Square's acquisition of Afterpay is expected to close during the first quarter 2022.
