eBay and PayPal announced today that they are now offering Bill Me Later as a payment option during checkout. This means that “qualified” customers in the U.S. can now buy items and pay for them over time without using a credit card.
The option will be available for Buy It Now and approved auction purchases on eBay. It is also available at “tens of thousands” of online stores that accept PayPal Express Checkout.
“Bill Me Later is the perfect complement to PayPal and eBay,” said Sam Shrauger, vice president of global product strategy for PayPal. “By offering Bill Me Later as part of the PayPal payment service, customers now have the choice to buy the items immediately and pay for them when they want with Bill Me Later’s flexible financing options.”
“Bill Me Later provides a great e-commerce experience for eBay buyers and sellers, and we’re excited to give our customers an easy, safe new way to pay just in time for the busiest shopping season of the year,” said Dinesh Lathi, vice president of buyer and seller experience of eBay Marketplaces.
eBay says that the Bill Me Later feature will increase sales and create higher average order values by giving consumers options like no payments for 90 days. To use it, consumers just select “Bill me Later” as their payment choice and enter information like their birthday and last four digits of their social security number.
eBay says Bill Me Later uses a real-time credit model to make decisions about credit within seconds, so consumers don’t have to complete a lengthy application prior to making a purchase. PayPal customers will be able to access their Bill Me Later statements directly from their PayPal accounts, with the option to pay their Bill Me Later balances with PayPal.
eBay bought Bill Me Later about a year ago for about $820 million in cash and $125 million in outstanding options. Now we are seeing it become integrated into eBay’s business.
