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Square parent Block Inc. will let its merchant customers offer Afterpay installment options to customers in its first step toward integrating the newly-closed acquisition.
While the financial-technology company, which changed its corporate name to Block
SQ,
late last year, sees multiple ways in which it will be able to incorporate buy-now pay-later (BNPL) options into its business, it is starting on the seller side with the new integration for merchants.
Block anticipates that buy-now pay-later functionality will drive greater revenue for sellers, it said in a late Monday announcement. An early test indicated that shoppers were inclined to spend more when given the option to make their purchases in installments.
The company also announced late Monday that its deal for Australian BNPL operator Afterpay has officially closed. Block announced its $29 billion all-stock deal for Afterpay back in August.
At the time, analysts saw various synergies between the two companies. The company could use Afterpay’s app to make it easier for customers to see deals from Block merchants, and it could also introduce Afterpay users to the various financial services hosted within the Cash App.
The deal comes as BNPL offerings gain steam in the U.S. and as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has launched an inquiry into the broader category.
