Japan’s BNPL Platform Paidy Launches New Shopping App

Japan’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Paidy is rolling out a new discovery app to help users find what they want from thousands of digital retailers.

Founder and Executive Chairman of Paidy Russell Cummer said the new app will give customers the option to use Paidy anywhere they want to shop. Customers also get the freedom of choice as far as payments, whether single-pay or BNPL.

 “We believe that enjoyable shopping through Paidy’s super-simple customer experience and the wise, comfortable choice of interest-free 3-pay payment will become the de facto standard for online shopping in Japan. Customers can look forward to even better things from Paidy as an innovator in eCommerce,” Cummer said in a press release on Tuesday (July 27).

Customers can tap the Paidy app at over 700,000 eCommerce retailers, and the Paidy Link service enables users to buy goods at PayPal’s 31 million merchants worldwide. Paidy Plus for Apple can also be used to buy merchandise at Apple retail stores and the Apple online store.

Paidy shoppers have the option to pay for the merchandise in the following month or opt for the 3-Pay (BNPL) installment choice. Shoppers can complete their transactions — from discovery to payments — without leaving the Paidy app.

Merchants that work with Paidy are established via partnerships with Visa and Orico. “With the mission to ‘take the hassle out of shopping,’ Paidy aims to create an environment where everyone can shop wisely and enjoyably,” according to the press release. 

Paidy currently services more than six million customers that have accounts with the platform. Almost 70 percent of eCommerce shoppers use a smartphone for digital purchases.

In a chat with PYMNTS’ CEO Karen Webster, Paidy’s Cummer said that Japanese eCommerce has been slow to take hold compared to other countries. The primary reason is due to the payments friction that comes with completing an online transaction in Japan. Consumers often have to pay the delivery provider for the goods, or head to the store to hand over the payment.