Synchrony Jumps Into The BNPL Game With an Assist From Fiserv’s Clover App Market

Synchrony Financial is the latest entrant in the highly popular, and increasingly crowded, buy now, pay later market. The Stamford, Conn.-based provider of consumer-financing products is partnering with Fiserv Inc. to allow merchants using Fiserv’s Clover platform to offer BNPL as a consumer-financing option.

Called SetPay in 4, Synchrony’s BNPL  offering combines a private-label credit card and BNPL financing option. Consumers using SetPay in 4 pay for purchases in four equal, interest-free installments, with the first payment due at checkout. The financing option is targeted at consumers making purchases of $40 to $500.

SetPay, which is funded by the merchant, will be part of the Pay with Synchrony app available on the Clover App Market. It is the first time a combined private-label credit card and BNPL solution will be available to small businesses via Clover, according to Synchrony.

BNPL became a highly popular financing option among consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic as merchants embraced it as a way to attract shoppers to physical stores as well as online. Part of BNPL’s appeal to consumers is that it affords them more buying power by breaking up the purchase over a series of installment payments, which are usually interest-free.

With prices surging due to high inflation rates, BNPL’s popularity with consumers shows no sign of waning as shoppers continue to seek additional financing options to increase their purchasing power. Indeed, a 2021 study conducted by Synchrony reveals more than one-third of shoppers are more likely to seek additional financing options now compared to two years ago.

“Including SetPay pay in 4 in the Clover App Market can help small businesses grow their customer base and offer the right financing solutions at the right time,” Florin Arghirescu, senior vice president and chief product officer for Synchrony, says by email. “Shoppers continue to seek additional financing options [and] are demanding a variety of payment options, and Synchrony wants to offer merchants the opportunity to meet these demands.”    

⁠One merchant adopting SetPay in 4 is Rad Air Complete Car Care & Tire Centers, an Ohio-based car-and-tire servicing franchise. Rad Air has worked with Synchrony since 2014 as a member of the Synchrony Car Care program, which makes a no-annual-fee credit card available to consumers for car expenses, include gas and auto parts purchases and auto servicing.

“It’s a game changer to be able to offer BNPL at point of sale in our shop,” said Bill Snow, vice president of Rad Air Franchise Systems, in a statement.

Synchrony regards platforms like Clover as a growth opportunity, as it is already embedded in merchants across the country and allows a new avenue to reach the consumer with the company’s products, according to Arghirescu. “Accessing SetPay pay in 4 in the Clover App Market can help small businesses grow their customer base and offer the right financing solutions at the right time,” Arghirescu says.