Yet the POS-financing market remains fragmented, says Sam Shrauger, SVP and global head of issuer and consumer solutions at Visa. In the U.S., most merchants don’t offer installment plans, and no single financial or technology firm dominates the space. Visa wants to change that.
Visa declined to disclose whether or how it will make more money when consumers choose to pay in installments. One possibility would be to tack on additional fees for merchants. In 2018, Visa collected about $25 billion in revenue from processing transactions. Another option would be to offer the installment feature for free to merchants, under the rationale that it will boost consumers’ interest in using their Visa card, thereby driving more transaction volume for Visa.
About time, some old things are better than the new ideas and practices.