Please share your thoughts on the current global BNPL industry. Where is in3 positioned in this space?
BNPL is growing rapidly around the globe. There are a few worldwide players but local markets are getting crowded by a lot of payments (BNPL) offerings. We are a local player with European ambitions. We are at the moment a local player in the Dutch market with a lot of webshops in the Netherlands and testing with some physical stores now. We were the first party in the Netherlands to offer pay in three instalments without zero interest. We differ from most competitors that we are specialized in it whereas other competitors offer it on the side next to their main postpay solution.
What led you to start in3? Tell us the story behind its inception.
in3 was created in 2018 as an antidote to the traditional BNPL market, Hans Langenhuizen reflected on the early days: “Our founding team was part of the early wave of the BNPL movement in the early 2010s. It quickly became a crowded market so we stood back and took a fresh look at the BNPL model and saw several limitations in all of the available products. First, you need to pay the full amount within 14 days and there are very low spending limits. At the same time, we noticed a demand to pay larger expenses in instalments. But paying in instalments has even more disadvantages for consumers such as high-interest rates and they are documented in their national credit register. These products benefit people who cannot afford to buy them at one time. This was not sustainable from perspective.”
“in3 was our honest approach to offer BNPL to consumers without costs which effectively allowed people to pay in 3 instalments within sixty days, with 0% interest. Because of the term of 60 days, registration in the credit registers is not required. This gives the consumer the possibility to buy what they want instead of c ompromising on quality products. For example, you can buy that refrigerator at no extra cost, and then you have three salaries to pay for it. Our merchants profit from in3 in their checkout as well: it results in a substantial increase in transactions and importantly, a higher average transaction value. We see that the buyer more often goes for the more expensive product.”
There are several players like you serving the BNPL industry. What is the USP of the company that differentiates it from others available in the marketplace?
Unlike other BNPL payment methods, in3 chooses not to earn money from the consumer. Hans Langenhuizen said: “The BNPL market is growing rapidly but we are mindful of protecting consumers against over-credit. This starts when placing an order where we perform an advanced check within a second.”
The payment option provides for payment in instalments. With in3 the consumer pays no interest whereas other BNPL payment methods charge 10% to 14%.
Hans Langenhuizen continued: “The revenue of many BNPL payment methods is built on fines and consumers suffer from this. We have a reversed business model and we benefit when the consumer pays on time. We are the first BNPL party at the European level to have set up the business model in this way and we believe that this is of decisive importance to be successful. With this positioning in the market, we are a disrupter with the aim of changing the entire ecosystem for the benefit of the consumer.”
What are the various services you provide to lenders, retailers, and channel partners? How are they unique from the market?
To our lenders and consumers, we offer to pay in 3 instalments with safe and popular payment methods, for example, iDEAL in the Netherlands. We give insights into their spending limit and have good customer service to help our lenders with their purchases and payments. That’s also a big value to our retailers. They value us for our socially responsible and honest approach and see that we are an extension of their webshop with an easy payment experience. Also, we have a fast payout after the first payment is done whereas other parties payout when the products are being shipped. Besides lenders and retailers, we do invest a lot in our channel partners and in particular the payment service providers. They play an important part in the success of in3 since they have payment integrations with retailers. We make sure that there is smooth integration and a high service level for the merchant and consumer when using our payment method throughout our payment services providers. We speak very frequently with our partners about our product and collaboration.
Tell us how you got your first client and how is it today for you to get new clients?
We get most of our clients from our partners. They serve the payments for our clients and for us it’s important that it’s easy to add in3 to the checkout of the webshop. Therefore, we have a warm relationship and we train the employees of our partners so they can help their clients with in3. Also, we have our own campaigning to generate new leads of course.
Is it possible for you to share the names of some of your major clients?
Babboo, Bax Shop, Matt Sleeps, Dekbed Discounter, V&D, Cameraland, Volero.
What are the upcoming opportunities that you witness post Covid-19 pandemic and what is your strategy for the same?
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw a big uplift in e-commerce which also reflected on our results in a positive way. Now when things are looking back to normal people are more often going to shop in stores. We see opportunities to make the payment experience in-store the same as it is online, with also the possibility to pay in three instalments.
How much have the challenges changed since inception?
When we started back in 2018, we were the first company that offers to pay in three instalments with zero interest. Nowadays more competitors are popping up with competitive payment offerings. But still, we have the best experience where we have a consumer rating of 9.3 and a higher average tax amount which gives a good example of how well in3 is capable of competing against possible competitors.
How has the growth of company in terms of numbers, achievements, and recognitions? What factors do you feel are responsible for this growth?
We’ve been growing since the beginning with 300% y-t-y. With a relatively small team, we are able to do a lot of transactions. That’s because our product and infrastructure are very solid and scalable. Also, the acknowledgment of our partners, the payment service providers, as our largest and best sales channel pays off. And last but not least, the honest approach where we charge no additional costs to consumers is sustainable.
Anything interesting about the company that has not been written or spoken elsewhere.
Interesting to mention is that our mission statement is to be the most socially responsible BNPL solution you ever want to use. We base our products and services on our three core values: Fun, Value, and Socially Responsible. If one of these pillars is not in scope, we don’t do it. That might be different from other companies where benefits are the greatest good.
What is the future roadmap for the company and the vision set
We would like to expand our market share in the Netherlands and enter the German market but we are also exploring other European countries to set foot on. We are still in the pilot phase of our in-store solution which we would love to further develop and we will keep exploring new verticals like the b2b market and the service sector.
