Point-of-sale

Afterpay has found an opening in the U.S. by targeting the millennials who don't have a credit card to use at the point of sale.

When established card networks such as Visa, American Express and Mastercard start investing in fintech lending platforms such as Divido and ChargeAfter — as well as in the fintech lenders themselves such as Klarna and Vyze — it’s a clear signal that the future of unsecured personal loans may not be delivered by banks.

Investors poured a fresh $400 million into Toast following a year in which the payment firm more than doubled revenue from its network of restaurant clients.

Klarna has agreed to acquire Italian fintech Moneymour as part of an innovation push to counter rivals in the popular point of sale credit market.

Point of sale credit is a popular option, and Visa has followed its investment in Klarna by financially backing ChargeAfter.

BitPay has integrated bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments into Poynt’s Smart Terminal point-of-sale devices, reaching an addressable market of more than 100,000 retailers.

The advancement of mobile wallets has never quite aligned with U.S. dining habits, where patrons are accustomed to handing off their credit cards to wait staff — something they are less likely to do with their phones.

Square is adding to its menu of services just as long-established competitors embed expanding payments technology into their own product mix.

Point of sale credit can be an alluring option for consumers who are normally averse to taking on debt. The allure is also enough to draw support from one of Australia’s largest banks and the digital merchant acquiring giant Stripe.

Breaking into the POS credit market is nearly impossible for payment companies without cooperation, says Jifiti's Nufar Segal.