Sezzle, Plaid Team On Consumer Payments

Installment payment platform Sezzle is partnering with Plaid, which works with digital tools to help companies enact FinTech solutions, in order to give customers more control over how their data is used in payments, according to a press release.

Sezzle works in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) model, meaning it lets customers pay for items in installments over a period of weeks.

According to data from Plaid, around one in four people with a U.S. bank account have used the company’s services in order to connect with over 2,600 FinTech developers across over 11,000 financial institutions.

With the new partnership, Sezzle customers will now be able to connect their financial accounts to Plaid, thus letting them pay more efficiently, the release stated. Processing costs for Sezzle will also be lowered with the partnership, through facilitating user payments via ACH rather than using card networks.

Sezzle Executive Chairman and CEO Charlie Youakim praised the partnership.

“Plaid’s goal of making money more accessible for everyone aligns with our mission of financially empowering the next generation,” Youakim said, according to the release, adding that the company is “excited” to work with Plaid on new products like Sezzle Up for customers.

Sezzle’s most recent capital round happened this month, PYMNTS reported. The company raised $55 million from a fully underwritten placement and support from existing and new CHESS Depositary Interest (CDI) holders. Sezzle said it would use the money to improve its growth and balance sheet.

The company had somewhat of a problem getting license to do business in California, where it was initially denied a license when the state assessed that it seemed to have been operating already without one. However, the company was finally able to secure a license earlier this year after agreeing to all of the state’s regulatory rules.

Sezzle reached 1 million active customers in the U.S. and Canada in February, PYMNTS reported. The company has also now partnered with over 10,000 merchants.