Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Zip Co. Ltd. expanded its buy now, pay later portfolio Wednesday with the roll out of the Zip Card. Cardholders can use the card, issued by WebBank, a Salt Lake City-based industrial bank, to make purchases in store and online and pay off those purchases in four installments.
During the trial period for the card, which ran in the United States between August 4–10 of this year, 90% of the consumers participating in the pilot said the card makes in-store shopping easier, Zip says. Cardholders can use the card to Pay in 4 at Visa merchants. Merchants accepting the card include Walmart and Home Depot, as well as local shops and restaurants, Zip says.
As the roll out the card begins, 250,000 consumers have been waitlisted to receive the card, which is currently only available in the U.S. The Zip Card, which was first announced in November 2021, complements Zip’s virtual card for BNPL payments through the Zip app.
“The Zip app lets customers use the pay later service pretty much everywhere…even on shopping sites where Zip is not at the checkout option,” Zip’s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer, Jinal Shah says in a prepared statement. “With the Zip Card, we are offering customers access to another fair, transparent payment method in a familiar format to use in-store, specifically at stores that do not accept contactless or mobile phone payments.”
A key feature of the card is the ability for cardholders to link a debit or credit card to their account to automatically pay their monthly installment. In addition, cardholders receive notifications about upcoming installment payments and have the option to change payment dates.
Zip is not the first company to offer a physical credit card for BNPL payments. Klarna AB introduced a cobranded Visa card in February. And Affirm Inc. offers its Debit+ card in limited numbers.
