Mastercard has expanded Mastercard Installments, its Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) program that delivers greater choice at checkout, both in-store and online, to consumers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. The BNPL program will meet growing consumer demand for flexible, digital-first payment options, and support the region’s e-commerce ecosystem through a new program focused on providing consumers choice.
Mastercard Installments – set to go live later this year – uses the power of the company’s trusted network to make BNPL available to millions of consumers and merchants worldwide. It enables banks, lenders, fintech companies, and wallets to offer a variety of flexible installment options to consumers, including a zero per cent interest, pay-in-four model. Implementation is handled by Mastercard and the acquirer with no lift to the merchant to offer this new payment choice, and no disruption to the existing customer experience.
Mastercard is working with leading partners representing a significant market share in the region including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADBC), Network International, and National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) in the UAE and Saudi National Bank (SNB) in Saudi Arabia. It is committed to supporting customers across the region to offer the Mastercard Installments program, with plans to scale to additional markets in the future. The solution sits alongside a number of bespoke BNPL go-to-market models that Mastercard is developing with its digital partners across a variety of sectors including mobility, retail, and marketplaces.
Mastercard Installments enables consumers to digitally access BNPL offers, either pre-approved through their lender’s mobile banking app or through instant approval during checkout. Consumers will have full transparency on lender practices up-front during the approval process, and unlike most current BNPL offerings, consumers will continue to benefit from zero liability fraud protection, the ability to challenge unrecognized charges, and the peace of mind that comes with Mastercard’s acceptance footprint.
“Above everything, consumers today demand flexibility and choice. With Mastercard Installments, we want to give people the choice to pay how, when and where they want. This most recent product innovation builds on the trust between businesses and their customers with Buy Now, Pay Later options benefitting everyone in the ecosystem. As Mastercard continues to design solutions for an evolving digital economy, we see BNPL becoming a standard for shopping, and we look forward to implementing this offering in the UAE and Saudi Arabia later this year,” said Khalid Elgibali, Division President for Middle East and North Africa, Mastercard.
Key benefits of Mastercard Installments include:
- Consumers: The Mastercard Installments program enables consumers to choose how and when they pay for items from a brand they can trust. Consumers enjoy a seamless experience before and after checkout through options to access BNPL offers, or secure an offer at the time of checkout, from trusted lenders for use at a variety of merchants interest-free. As consumer protection is paramount at Mastercard, Mastercard Installments provides ubiquitous acceptance backed by zero liability fraud protection, not yet available through most current BNPL offerings.
- Merchants & Acquiring Banks: The Mastercard Installments program helps merchants scale BNPL offerings to consumers to turn convenience into a competitive advantage. BNPL solutions have been shown to increase average sales by 45% and reduce cart abandonment by 35% post-implementation*. Mastercard Installments provides seamless merchant integration with a streamlined process for millions of merchants who already accept Mastercard. Meanwhile, acquiring banks can offer installments capabilities to their entire merchant base with minimal, simple integration.
- Lenders: Through the Mastercard Installments program, lenders can offer a flexible, seamless BNPL experience to both existing and new customers, expanding their lending opportunities in one of the fastest-growing consumer segments. Mastercard Installments provides an expedited time to market and global expansion opportunities with a responsible lending approach.
- Wallets and BNPL players: Digital wallets and BNPL players can extend their offering to merchants beyond their existing footprint. Mastercard Installments is embedded in the core Mastercard network, which means there is no longer a need for wallets and BNPL players to build direct settlement arrangements with merchants or acquirers. BNPL providers can also supplement their existing networks with additional merchant acceptance.
Fueled by changing consumer spending habits during the pandemic, BNPL adoption continues to accelerate globally. In addition to consumer demand, the momentum is being driven by issuer and merchant desire to deliver new, complementary ways for consumers to shop both in-store and online.
