Shocker: Amex, Chase and Citi top BNPL satisfaction rankings
American Express 'Plan It' card-based buy now, pay later service dominates J.D. Power's new customer satisfaction study, outranking Klarna, Sezzle, Afterpay and Affirm. In fact, three credit card issuers beat out these BNPL specialists plus Apple Pay Later.
American consumers have high levels of satisfaction with buy now, pay later options, according to the inaugural edition of a J.D. Power study examining this trend. But what’s most surprising is that the top three providers in the study don’t include any of the firms that specialize in BNPL financing.
The leading offering at 695 on a 1,000-point scale is Plan It from American Express, which permits consumers to turn Amex credit card charges into fee-based installment plans. Plan It started in 2017. The average for all programs rated in the J.D. Power study was 634.
My Chase Plan, from JPMorgan Chase, also begins with a card transaction, as does Citi Flex Pay. The Chase program received a 686 rating, while Citi’s offering received a 676. Behind those offerings from traditional players came PayPal Pay in 4, earning a 656, and finally, specialist Zip at 655.
Apple Pay Later, part of the Apple financial “walled garden” centered around its iPhone, scored 643, 52 points below American Express. The tech giant’s BNPL offering debuted in March 2023 and became generally available to Apple Pay customers later in the year.
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