Why Card-Linked Installments is a Better Form of BNPL With Nandan Sheth, CEO of Splitit

Nandan Sheth has spent 25 years in payments, building three growth companies along the way, including Harbor Payments (sold to American Express) and Acculynk (sold to First Data/Fiserv). He now runs Splitit, which takes a different path than most buy now, pay later providers: instead of originating a new loan, it turns the credit a consumer already has on their existing card into an installment plan, with no underwriting, no social security number, and no new debit card for repayments. With agentic commerce infrastructure being built in real time, Nandan argues that a frictionless installment option is exactly what merchants need to avoid being commoditized on price inside an LLM shopping platform.What We CoveredThree growth companies across 25 years in paymentsWhat attracted Nandan to Splitit from FiservCard-linked installments with no underwriting or new loanThe card loyalist versus the credit needy$3.5 trillion of unused credit sitting on US cardsMerchant-funded 0% economics and where the budget comes fromA $1,300 average order value versus $250 to $300 for standard BNPLPoint of sale through the Samsung Wallet integrationBacking Google's Universal Commerce ProtocolThe overlooked small business to large supplier B2B use caseChargebacks, repudiation, and who carries the risk in agent-led purchasesSplitit Go for the face-to-face services economyKey TakeawaysBNPL is really two markets, not one. Card loyalists want rewards, protections, and habit, while the credit needy want a new line of credit. Nandan thinks both get served, but by different products.The economics work because the merchant treats it as marketing spend. About 98% of Splitit's volume is a merchant-funded 0% plan, priced comparably to a percentage-off promotion, and it lifts average order value roughly four times over standard BNPL.In agentic commerce, price and delivery speed are the easiest things for an LLM to compare. A 0% installment option gives merchants a third lever that is not pure price competition.The B2B version may be the stronger use case. Small business owners face both a time problem and a working capital problem, which is a sharper reason to hand off buying to an agent than a consumer shopping for a polo shirt.About Nandan ShethNandan Sheth is the CEO of Splitit, the card-linked installments platform. He moved to the US from the UK 25 years ago and has spent his entire career in payments and fintech, including running e-commerce and omni-channel commerce at Fiserv. He previously built Harbor Payments, acquired by American Express, and Acculynk, acquired by First Data/Fiserv.Connect with Fintech One-on-One:Tweet me @PeterRentonConnect with me on LinkedInFind previous Fintech One-on-One episodes