PayPal will go head-to-head with Afterpay when it launches a new buy now pay later (BNPL) offering in Australia to its nine million active customers in June 2021.

PayPal Pay in 4 allows consumers to split eligible purchases from $50 to $1,500 over four equal, interest-free instalments, with automatic re-payments drawn every two weeks. No fees are charged when payments are made on time.

Consumers can use the standard PayPal button when purchasing goods with the BNPL option appearing at checkout in the PayPal wallet. The security and protections offered by the PayPal platform will apply for transactions made using PayPal Pay in 4. Eligible purchases will be covered by PayPal’s Buyer Protection, so if a product does not arrive PayPal can refund the full purchase price, including delivery.

PayPal business customers can present PayPal Pay in 4 as a payment option on their website at no additional cost. It is automatically included with PayPal Checkout integrationand Braintree integrations that use PayPal’s latest JavaScript Software Development Kit.

With a single integration, PayPal business customers can add PayPal Pay in 4 messaging to their site, so consumers are aware of their flexible payment options. PayPal Pay in 4 messaging will dynamically show the individual instalment amounts based on what the customer is browsing or purchasing.

Businesses will benefit from PayPal’s advanced decisioning process to prevent fraud and will be covered by PayPal’s Seller Protection for eligible transactions.

PayPal Australia general manager for payments, Andrew Toon, said Australian consumers are looking for more choice and flexibility and PayPal Pay in 4 gives them yet another way to purchase securely using PayPal.

“PayPal’s digital wallet is the only solution that provides multiple ways to pay all in the one place – instantly with debit or credit card; 21 days later with our Pay After Delivery option; and now in four interest-free instalments using PayPal Pay in 4,” he said.

“Our Australian business customers have been requesting buy now pay later functionality from us, and we are excited that we can offer PayPal Pay in 4 to them at no additional cost.

“Shopping habits are changing at an unprecedented rate and during the pandemic we saw more than two million Australians start shopping online for the first time. We will continue to support Australian businesses of all sizes to adapt to rapidly changing consumer behaviours by evolving our service to meet their needs,” he added.