Skipify and Mastercard to Bring Flexible Payment Options to Shoppers with New Installments Product

Seamless, card-linked installments at checkout empower merchants and consumers with greater choice and flexibility.

At Skipify, our vision is simple: provide shoppers with the ultimate choice and flexibility at checkout. Whether it's paying with a credit or debit card, splitting payments across cards, or using alternative financing options, we believe in empowering consumers at the moment of purchase with every payment method possible. Powered by Skipify’s Commerce Identity Cloud, merchants can now offer a wide range of payment options seamlessly — without any upheavals to their existing checkout experience. 

Today, we’re excited to announce that Mastercard has selected Skipify to expand its US installments program, providing more payment flexibility directly at checkout. Eligible cardholders and Mastercard users can access installment options for any eligible credit card, making purchases easier and more flexible than ever.

How Identity-Powered Installment Pay Works

Skipify leverages digital identity to instantly recognize shoppers at checkout, automatically displaying all their associated cards and any eligible installment payment options — no manual entry, no logins, no hassle required. Eligible shoppers can then choose to pay in full with their preferred card or split the purchase into an installment plan of their choice. Skipify will work behind the scenes with Mastercard to ensure the entire process is fast and secure – and positively impacts authorization and conversion rates. This seamless experience translates to larger purchase values and higher conversion rates for merchants, all without adding friction to the checkout user experience. 

Installment payments are available to Skipify merchants at no additional cost, offering significant savings compared to traditional BNPL solutions, which typically charge service fees ranging from 2% to 8%.

Why It’s Important for Merchants 

 As consumers increasingly turn to buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options to fund their purchases and manage spending, offering some type of financing option has become crucial for merchants to acquire customers and build brand loyalty. 

Integrating BNPL services, however, often presents significant challenges. Merchants face expensive, complex setups, juggling multiple provider contracts, and navigating inconsistent operational procedures. These obstacles create a disjointed user experience and add friction to the purchase process — especially when consumers are already frustrated with complicated checkout pages, redirects, and too many payment buttons. 

In contrast, card-linked installments have gained significant traction, with 33% of consumers now choosing credit card-linked installments for big-ticket purchases — more than any other pay later option.1  As always, consumer trust plays a major role in adoption. 63% of consumers say they are more likely to adopt BNPL if offered by their trusted banking partner.2  Yet, many of these options are only available post-purchase, allowing consumers to repay their credit card purchases in installments after the fact. Until now. 

Skipify and Mastercard partnership makes installments easier, more flexible 

Together, Skipify and Mastercard are empowering shoppers with a new level of confidence and freedom at checkout. Instant access to installment options allows consumers to manage their budgets effortlessly, removing barriers and making shopping easier, more intuitive, and free from financial constraints. 

— Jeff Smith, SVP Strategic Partnerships, Skipify

1 Redefining Retail, PYMNTS May 2024

2 World Payments Advisory Study, The explosive growth of BNPL Mastercard D&S, 2022