Instalment plans shake up Canadian retail

SPECIAL REPORT — A growing number of platforms are offering e-retail customers the chance to pay for purchases in instalments, while assuming the risks on behalf of merchants. According to CBC News, services such as Afterpay, PayBright, Sezzle and Affirm charge lower fees—in some cases, none at all to the customer. Afterpay, for example, is free for consumers. Retailers pay a fee of four to six percent of the sale, and in return Afterpay pays them up front, assuming the risk of non-payment on the customer’s part.