Inside Shopify’s financial services strategy

The convergence of retail and financial services is being led by large platforms that help merchants seamlessly reach customers online and offline. Indeed, embedding financial services within commerce platforms helps them unlock additional value from seller relationships, and provides a repository of data to personalize product offerings. A major player in this ecosystem is Shopify, a Canada-based company that helps more than a million merchants operate digitally and in-person. On today’s Tearsheet podcast, we speak with Kaz Nejatian, vice president and general manager of Shopify Financial Solutions. Shopify, a 14-year-old company that has a market capitalization of more than $100 billion, began making forays into financial services in 2013, with the launch of Shopify Point of Sale. Three years later, it rolled out Shopify Capital for sellers. The company in recent months made a couple of noteworthy financial product announcements, including the upcoming launch of Shopify Balance, a money management solution for sellers; and a buy-now-pay-later option for consumers in partnership with point-of-sale lender Affirm. Nejatian discusses Shopify’s financial product roadmap and how its embedded financial solutions connect to the company’s broader seller toolkit. A lawyer by training, Nejatian previously worked in private practice; the Canadian government; Facebook, and founded and successfully exited payments startup Kash.