Splitit Debuts Card Installments for Face-to-Face Payments

The installment payments company says its Splitit Go solution, announced Monday (March 23), is geared toward in-person transactions such as field services, in-store purchases and consultations.

“Installments have become common in e-commerce, but most high-value purchases in the U.S. services economy still happen face-to-face,” the company said in a news release.

“Contractors, medical providers, automotive service centers, and specialty retailers often discuss large purchases directly with customers, where affordability concerns can delay or prevent a sale. Splitit Go allows merchants to introduce installment options instantly when a purchase decision is made.”

The company says Splitit Go differs from traditional buy now, pay later (BNPL) models in that rather than requiring new credit applications, underwriting or redirecting customers to third-party platforms, it lets consumers use the available credit on their existing credit cards.

Splitit says this opportunity covers more than $4.6 trillion in yearly U.S. services spending, on categories such as home services, medical and dental practices, automotive repair, specialty retail and professional services.

“These industries frequently close sales through in-person conversations rather than digital checkout flows, creating a significant gap between where installment payments are offered and where many purchase decisions are made,” the company added.

The new offering is happening at a time when pay later is “shifting from a checkout convenience to a budgeting tool” for many consumers, as PYMNTS wrote last week.

The largest drivers of this transition are millennials and their slightly older counterparts, who are turning to installment plans and BNPL services more often than other generations.

This trend is explored in “The Pay Later Ecosystem Report: Pay Later Moves Into the Monthly Budget,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report that examined how American consumers use deferred payment tools. The research found that pay-later services are increasingly integrated with everyday spending patterns rather than helping fund occasional purchases.

According to the report, 45% of millennials reported using credit card installment plans in the prior three months, compared with lower usage among other generations. Bridge millennials were close behind at 42%, underlining the strong appeal of installment financing for people in their peak spending years.

“For banks, merchants and FinTech providers, the findings point toward new opportunities,” PYMNTS added. “As pay-later services evolve from a financing feature into a budgeting habit, consumers will likely expect better tools to track payments and manage their plans in one place.”