Square ploughs $29B into ‘buy now, pay later’ company Afterpay

Twitter supremo Jack Dorsey’s Square has snapped up a $29 billion share of Afterpay – an Australian service that lets you pay for purchases later without charging interest.

The company has already bought a majority stake in struggling music service Tidal, owned by rapper Jay Z.

Afterpay gained popularity last year through reality TV star Kim Kardashian who gave the firm a boost after tweeting about using it as a way to buy her beauty products.

“The acquisition aims to enable the companies to better deliver compelling financial products and services that expand access to more consumers and drive incremental revenue for merchants of all sizes,” said a company statement.

“The closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of calendar year 2022.”

Both companies have a shared purpose

Square CEO Jack Dorsey said he wanted his business to make the financial system more fair, accessible, and inclusive, and “Afterpay has built a trusted brand aligned with those principles”.

“Together, we can better connect our Cash App and Seller ecosystems to deliver even more compelling products and services for merchants and consumers, putting the power back in their hands,” he added.

Bitcoin fan Dorsey also stated the “pioneering global ‘buy now, pay later’ platform will accelerate Square’s strategic priorities for its Seller and Cash App ecosystems”.

Square said it intends to integrate Afterpay into its existing units, enable even the smallest of merchants to offer BNPL at checkout, give Afterpay consumers the ability to manage their instalment payments directly in Cash App, and give Cash App customers the ability to discover merchants and BNPL offers directly within the app.

Brian Grassadonia, Square’s Cash App lead, added: “The addition of Afterpay to Cash App will strengthen our growing networks of consumers around the world while supporting consumers with flexible, responsible payment options.”