Payments company Block is testing an integration of its buy now, pay later Afterpay service with a debit card tied to its peer-to-peer Cash App tool, according to company head Jack Dorsey.

Oakland, California-based Block said the integration will “continue to expand out this year,” Dorsey said during Block’s first quarter earnings call last Thursday.

A Block spokesperson declined to comment on the scope and timing of the roll-out of its Afterpay-Cash App debit card integration.

In a shareholder letter related to the earnings call, the company shared that the offering would allow “customers to convert certain purchases into a short term loan and access BNPL anywhere they use their Cash App Card for a small fee.” The company also said the feature had been available to certain users “over the past few months.”

“We're going to start small,” Block CFO Amrita Ahuja said on the call, adding that the company plans to roll out the feature to more of the card’s 24 million monthly active users “based on the signals that we see.”

Still, Dorsey has big plans. The aim is to put Afterpay’s BNPL loans “into the hands of millions,” he said.

The integration of features reflects a “reset” of strategy and a combination of the Cash App and Afterpay teams within Block, according to Ahuja, who also serves as chief operating officer. “Afterpay is now fully embedded in the Cash App ecosystem,” she said.

On another front, Dorsey defended Block’s compliance controls in response to an NBC News report alleging the company was under investigation from the Department of Justice. The report followed a February story by the same outlet that said Block was facing whistleblower complaints filed with other federal agencies.

Separately, Block may face “legal action” from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau related to customer service concerns connected to Cash App, according to a company disclosure in February.

By James Pothen on May 7, 2024
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