After Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s company snaps up Afterpay, spotlight shines on ‘buy now, pay later’ platforms

The $29-billion takeover of Australia’s “buy now, pay later” app Afterpay by US firm Square has thrown a spotlight on a sector that is growing rapidly and grabbing the attention of regulators.

The seven-year-old Sydney-based app — which allows users to pay off smaller purchases in regular instalments — is aimed at millennials who embrace a cashless lifestyle.

It now boasts more than 16 million customers worldwide and works with almost 100,000 retailers.

Afterpay is the best-known “buy now, pay later” — or BNPL — app, alongside Sweden’s Klarna.

Its success caught the eye of Square, a digital payment platform owned by Twitter chief Jack Dorsey, who announced the mega deal on Sunday.