Square has reached an agreement to buy Afterpay, an Australian buy-now-pay-later service, in an all-stock transaction worth approximately $29 billion. This makes it one of Australia's largest acquisitions. Many people are wondering if Square will pay $7.25 Billion in four installments in shares.Square announced the acquisition in a joint press release. It stated that Afterpay will be integrated into Cash App and Seller. Cash App is for customers who wish to make payments or transfer money. Seller is for retailers. Afterpay integration will allow Cash App users to manage Afterpay payments from within the app. Seller merchants will then be able offer Afterpay to customers.Afterpay CEOs Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen, co-founders of Afterpay, said, "By combining With Square, [Afterpay] will further increase our growth in America and globally, provide access to a new type of in-person merchants and provide a wider platform of new and valuable capabilities, services for our merchants as well as our consumers." Afterpay has nearly 100,000 retailers around the world and currently serves 16.2 million customers worldwide.Square CEO Jack Dorsey stated, "Together we can better connect Cash App and Seller ecosystems in order to deliver even greater products and services for consumers and merchants,"Afterpay's "buy Now, Pay Later" service offers interest-free loans for purchases made at the point of sale. Instead of paying upfront for the entire price, customers can choose to pay four equal installments spread over four weeks. Late payments will incur fees of at least $8 and maximum 25 percent of the purchase price.This seems like a very useful service, especially considering that pandemic-driven retail therapy has been working overtime to support our crumbling mental health. Afterpay is a service that allows us to make purchases that we like rather than those that we need. It's a great way for people who have money problems to go further into debt.The transaction is expected to be completed by the beginning of next year. This will make pandemic depression purchases less likely.
