Square’s acquisition of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) firm Afterpay will further entrench the payment provider’s tools with small-business and consumer-banking clients, a move that should concern some traditional financial institutions, industry observers said.
The $29 billion deal, which Square announced this month, is expected to close by the end of the first quarter next year, and will bring the Australian firm’s point-of-sale financing technology and large merchant portfolio under Square’s umbrella, further enabling that San Francisco-based fintech to continue its aggressive push into banking services. Square has been building its offering around its Cash App mobile payment service.
