ChargeAfter Debuts Embedded Lending Hub for Banks

Point-of-sale financing firm ChargeAfter has debuted an embedded lending platform for banks.

The Lending Hub, announced Monday (Mar. 4), is designed to let banks and financial institutions streamline the development, distribution and management of multiple lending products, the company said in a news release.

“Banks are seeking to expand beyond their traditional models and integrate their lending products directly into merchants’ points of sale,” said Jeffrey Tower, ChargeAfters’ executive vice president of global business development and strategy.

“Our platform promises to transform the way they and their customers experience lending, offering a suite of comprehensive tools and seamless integration that stand unmatched in the market,” Tower added. “For banks looking to redefine their lending experience and foster a future of financial innovation, ChargeAfter opens doors to possibilities once deemed beyond reach.”

The announcement comes at a time when the outlook for the point-of-sale financing/buy now, pay later (BNPL) space is growing brighter, as PYMNTS wrote last week, with the popularity of this installment payment method being reinforced by the survival of firms like Klarna.

“The biggest challenge for BNPL providers remains: how to be profitable,” that report said. “But, as PYMNTS Intelligence found, increasing profits and strategic partnerships may help lead the way to profitability.”

Research from the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: What BNPL Needs to Win Wider Adoption” showed that 53% of consumers upped their use of deferred payment installment plans due to their satisfaction with BNPL.

That same report found 75% of BNPL users were very or extremely satisfied with their BNPL options — no matter which BNPL provider they said they preferred.

Meanwhile, a separate PYMNTS Intelligence offering —“PYMNTS’ FinTech Tracker® Series Report: BNPL Defies the Economic Odds Through Innovation and Partnerships” — also showed high levels of consumer satisfaction among BNPL shoppers, but the Tracker also illustrated how resilient this purchase option is in spite of economic uncertainty.

“As the latter report showed, despite climbing high interest rates (like those that led to Klarna’s devaluation in 2022), BNPL providers demonstrated an ability to weather the shifting market conditions that played out in 2023,” PYMNTS wrote.

In fact, the report found that a number of leading BNPL providers flourished at a time when other interest rate-sensitive businesses, traditional lenders among them, found themselves having trouble connecting with consumers.