Dubai-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Postpay has launched a new checkout solution that aims to simplify the process and empower eCommerce merchants.
The solution, One by Postpay, allows customers to bypass the usual steps of checkout, letting them buy things directly from the product page across a bigger network of leading eCommerce brands.
According to an Arabian Business report Thursday (July 28), the effect is a “unified checkout experience,” which the company claims is “five times faster than any other regional checkout experience.”
“The impulse to shop online has not changed, but the expectations surrounding the experience have,” Tariq Sheikh, founder and CEO of Postpay, said in the report. “With the help of global tech giants, customers know they can get what they want when they want it, but what has evolved is this shift towards constant gratification. Customers now seek a consistent shopping experience that is instant, smooth and convenient, across all the brands at which they want to shop.”
Per the report, in the Gulf Cooperation Council, over 68% of carts abandoned in checkout because of “unnecessary friction” in the checkout process. The report noted this results in roughly $16 billion in lost sales in the GCC alone.
Customers’ expectations have also changed, with people now wanting a more convenient and frictionless way to shop, and changing brands if they don’t get that experience. Younger customers in particular are prone to frustration over cumbersome checkouts like re-entering payment information.
Last year, Postpay rolled out a virtual card which it said was the first one rolled out in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Read more: Virtual Cards Accelerate Buy Now, Pay Later in MENA
At the time, Sheikh said it would give customers a way to access three interest-free installments and also let them shop anywhere they want. The process involves making a virtual card on the Postpay app and adding it into a wallet, without having to integrate into other companies’ products.
“It’s one of the most disruptive products [out there and it] empowers the customer to choose where they want to shop in installments,” he said. “No other buy now, pay later [player] in the region can say that they allow their customers to shop anywhere in installments.”
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