Accessing financial services has been made available via multiple routes over the years. In the recent past, applying for loans and enabling payments was usually achieved by interacting directly with a bank — the customer walked through the doors of their branch to do this in-person. However, anyone who has purchased a car in the past 30 years will be familiar with applying for financing on the shop floor of a dealership, rather than with a bank manager. Department stores have long offered in-store credit and holiday lay-away deals, effectively offering consumers an easy way to buy now and pay later (BNPL).
Today’s world of smartphones, e-commerce and open-banking initiatives have opened up new ways to access financial services. Much like the car dealership, many more merchants now offer point-of-sale (POS) financing for higher priced items, insurance add-ons are commonplace and payment for things like food delivery or taxi rides are seamless. All are embedded in the process and usually made available by non-financial players.
