The Japanese secondhand eCommerce site Mercari is partnering with New York buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Zip (formerly Quadpay) to bring people an easier way to shop for gently used, premium merchandise.
“We built Mercari for casual sellers, deal-seekers and avid collectors so they can easily buy and sell across our platform,” John Lagerling, Mercari U.S. CEO, said in a press release on Wednesday (Sept. 1).
See also: Zip, Quadpay to Merge Into a Single BNPL Brand
He added that Mercari strives to give people an easy way to buy everyday merchandise as well as “rare treasures,” and that by teaming with Zip, the company can offer its customers a way to buy “that’s not only good for their wallets, but also good for the planet.”
The collaboration between the two startups gives U.S. customers the ability to use the BNPL option at checkout. Zip offers a transparent four-payment installment plan that is an alternative to credit cards.
Mercari sellers on the platform will get the full amount of payment for whatever is sold, even if buyers choose the Zip installment plan, according to the release.
Related news: BigCommerce Taps Zip for Installment Payments
“Zip installments include no stress on credit scores,” said Zip U.S. Co-CEO Brad Lindenberg. “This type of flexible, safe and secure finance option aligns perfectly with Mercari’s consumers, who are already ahead of the curve when it comes to finding ways to save money. We are looking forward to providing customers across the platform with multiple ways to shop and finance their purchases.”
Learn more: For SMBs, Buy Now, Pay Later Is Much More Than Just a Payment Method
People in the U.S. have looked to Mercari to sell their own merchandise and to purchase things that are no longer available or are hard to find at retail stores. The company, which was founded in 2013 and has offices in Tokyo, Brooklyn and Manhattan, has posted steady growth over the past 12 months.
Zip’s installment payment platform offers people another way to pay across installments, without the high interest rates of credit cards. The BNPL market is forecasted to grow 181 percent in the next three years, according to a report by FIS WorldPay.