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Slope, a provider of buy now, pay later solutions for business-to-business transactions, announced early Thursday it will use Marqeta Inc.’s card-issuing platform to issue a B2B credit card that features BNPL payment options.
The card is expected to make it easier for businesses to manage purchases and cash flow by allowing them to spread payments over time. Businesses using the card can opt for 30- or 60-day loans when using the card in-store or online. Home furnishings retailer IKEA is making the card available to its small and medium-size business customers, Marqeta says.
Slope says it chose Marqeta’s platform in part because it enables some of the largest BNPL players to issue cards offering the installments. Earlier this year, for example, Marqeta reached an agreement with BNPL provider Affirm Inc. to launch a credit card featuring a BNPL option. To enable BNPL, Marqeta will use Visa Inc.’s flexible-credential technology, which allows cardholders to choose from a list of payment methods when using a Visa card, including debit, credit, or BNPL, while relying on a single credential. The Affirm card was expected to launch by year’s end.
In related news, BNPL platform provider equipifi Inc. said it will work with Synergent to offer BNPL programs to credit unions.
The partnership fills a need for credit unions to offer BNPL payment options, equipifi says. Founded by credit unions in 1971, equipifi offers processing and digital-banking services to that sector of financial services. The global BNPL market is forecast to grow 26.1% between 2023 to 2030, according to Grand View Research.
“The popularity of credit-union BNPL programs is driven by members who prefer to access financial flexibility from an institution they know and trust,” equipifi chief executive and co-founder Bryce Deeney says in a statement.
