Eye on E-Commerce: Paze at 125 Million Cards; Klarna Becomes an Apple Reseller

Paze, the online checkout service from Early Warning Services LLC, says more than 125 million credit and debit cards are now available to use with the e-commerce checkout tool as the service taps a new general manager. Also, buy now, pay later specialist Klarna AB has become an Apple Inc. reseller.

At broader availability, more than 150 million U.S. credit and debit cards will be eligible for Paze enrollment with those from Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, PNC Bank, Truist, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo already part of the current total. Paze is meant to reduce online checkout friction by preloading payment and related data, with consumer consent, into the wallet. The expectation is it could save steps in checkout and potentially result in more completed sales for e-commerce merchants.

Paze lists 20 merchants, such as Teleflora, Sephora, Cheapoair.com, and Party City, in its network with others eligible from providers like GoDaddy and software firm Endava.

Early Warning also named a new general manager for Paze, Serge Elkiner. Most recently global head of product for money-movement solutions at Visa Inc., Elkiner was the cofounder of YellowPepper, a mobile-payments fintech in Latin America and the Caribbean, which Visa acquired in 2020.

In related e-commerce news, Klarna AB says it now is an Apple reseller and is making its Upgrade Financing available to consumers purchasing Apple products through its app and Web site. Upgrade Financing enables shoppers to make monthly payments, and at the end of the loan term they can trade in their devices and upgrade or keep the device with a final, interest-free payment. Financing is offered via WebBank. An iPad Pro, for example, has an Upgrade Financing offer, pending credit review and approval, of $29.99 per month for 24 months, at the end of which the consumer can upgrade to the latest version or make a $279.22 final payment. Klarna also offers Pay in 4 interest-free BNPL financing or payment-in-full options.

The Klarna Apple site is managed by Canada-based customer-engagement platform CarltoneOne, which manages the storefront with payment options provided by Klarna.