Best Buy Now, Pay Later Services for Small Businesses

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) has moved well past its consumer-fintech novelty phase. For small businesses, it's a conversion tool: the customer splits a purchase into installments while the merchant gets paid up front, with the BNPL provider absorbing all repayment and fraud risk4. The question isn't whether to offer it — it's which service fits your sales channel, average order value (AOV), and existing tech stack.

Here's how the leading options stack up for small businesses, and which one makes sense for your situation.

How BNPL Works for Merchants

When a customer chooses BNPL at checkout, the provider pays you the full amount (minus fees) up front4. The provider then collects installments directly from the customer and assumes all risk of nonpayment4. Merchant fees typically range from 2–8% per transaction, depending on the provider and transaction size3. Payout speed generally falls within 1–5 business days.

The right choice depends on three factors: where you sell (online, in-store, or both), your average order value, and which platform you're already plugged into.

Our Picks

1. PayPal for Business — Best for Existing PayPal Users

If you already accept PayPal, BNPL is already in your account. PayPal Pay Later requires no separate integration — it appears as a payment option at checkout for eligible customers1. Merchant fees run 1.9–3.49% + 50¢ per transaction, among the lowest in the category1. PayPal's brand recognition also helps: customers who trust the PayPal name are more likely to complete checkout when they see a familiar option rather than a third-party BNPL brand they may not recognize.

The trade-off is that you're limited to PayPal's own Pay in 4 product — you can't offer Affirm or Klarna through this integration. And while PayPal reports a per-transaction fee of 4.99% + $0.49 for Pay in 4 in the US3, the broader Pay Later merchant rate card starts at 1.9%1, so your actual cost depends on your PayPal processing tier.

2. Shop Pay Installments — Best for Shopify Merchants

Shop Pay Installments is Shopify's native BNPL offering, powered by Affirm2. It's built directly into Shopify's checkout flow — no third-party plugin or separate underwriting required. Shopify reports that merchants using Shop Pay Installments see up to a 50% increase in AOV and 28% fewer abandoned carts2. Customers pay zero late fees, which removes a common friction point in BNPL adoption.

The catch is exclusivity: Shop Pay Installments only works within the Shopify ecosystem3. If you sell on Shopify, it's a no-brainer. If you don't, it's not an option.

3. Stripe — Best for Multi-Platform Flexibility

Stripe's BNPL integration is the most flexible option on this list. A single Stripe integration gives you access to Affirm, Afterpay/Clearpay, Klarna, and Zip — with no separate underwriting for each provider4. That means you can offer multiple BNPL brands at checkout and let customers choose their preferred option, all managed through one dashboard.

Stripe reports that businesses see up to a 14% revenue increase on BNPL-eligible sessions4. Fees vary by provider (typically 2–6%+ per transaction1), but the convenience of a single integration across four major BNPL brands is hard to match if you sell across multiple platforms or channels.

4. Square — Best for In-Store and Omnichannel

Square has Afterpay pre-integrated into both its POS system and ecommerce platform1. For brick-and-mortar businesses already running on Square — restaurants, retail shops, service providers — adding BNPL is essentially a toggle, not a project. Afterpay's fees run 4–6% + 30¢ per transaction1, and its customer base skews younger, making it a strong fit for businesses whose customers are predominantly Gen Z1.

Afterpay supports in-store payments through its digital wallet, so customers can split payments at a physical counter just as easily as online1. With 20 million customers and integration across 348K brands2, the network effect is substantial.

How to Choose

Already on PayPal? Turn on Pay Later — it's the lowest-friction, lowest-cost option1.

Running a Shopify store? Shop Pay Installments is included and delivers measurable AOV and cart-abandonment improvements2.

Selling across multiple platforms? Stripe gives you four BNPL brands through one integration4.

Brick-and-mortar or omnichannel? Square with Afterpay covers both in-store and online with minimal setup1.

The Bottom Line

Every pick here shifts fraud and repayment risk to the BNPL provider4 — you get paid up front regardless of whether the customer finishes their installments. The differentiator is fit: match the service to your sales channel and existing stack, and the rest is execution. The things actually worth buying are the ones that slot into what you already run.

Disclosure: We may earn a commission from links in this article, at no extra cost to you. Our recommendations are based on independent research and the specific needs of small businesses.

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