Scalapay participates with Twig in the development of the circular economy

To break the link between "fast fashion" and "Buy Now Pay Later", the Italian fintech Scalapay is banking on a partnership with the British fintech Twig, which is positioned in the circular economy via the resale of objects between individuals.

FACTS

• Scalapay allows consumers to opt to pay for their purchases in three or four instalments or in full after 14 days without having to make any upfront payments.

• What makes Twig unique is its model, which is based on immediacy and on the platform's own valuation of resold items.

•  Scalapay customers will be redirected to Twig and can get an instant valuation of their clothes and electronics and sell them to Twig with immediate payment.

• Twig then sends them a prepaid package by post so that the customer can ship the product.

• The second unique feature of Twig's platform is that it will allow users to trade digital and physical items, either for cash or in exchange for digital assets such as crypto-currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

CHALLENGES

• Encouraging customers to think and act more sustainably: Although debatable, the logic put forward by Scalapay is that if a customer can instantly resell something they have bought such as a dress or a bag, it helps them to buy better quality and even opt for sustainable brands whose products tend to retain more value over time.

• Transitioning from payment to e-commerce: Scalapay is not the only payment player looking to expand its initial position as a payment player to a true e-commerce player, where the monetisation of its model lies. To do this, the fintech is partnering with a company specialising in logistics and customer interaction.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Last November, it was the BPCE group's subsidiary, Oney, which proposed to put BNPL at the service of more responsible consumption with its operation called "win-win week". The operation launched by Oney aimed to finance purchases of second-hand or more responsible items more simply and free of charge.

• Earlier this month, Scalapay made a $27 million investment in Italian service infrastructure network and payment card issuer Poste Italiane.

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