Suncorp is the latest traditional bank to enter the booming buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) niche.

As with similar and popular BNPL apps such as Afterpay, Zip and Klarna, PayLater promises to allow customers additional freedom and flexibility when it comes to when and how they borrow and spend money.

“Some customers prefer to use credit cards, while others want simple, short-term payment options from a trusted and secure bank,” said Suncorp Bank CEO Clive van Horen.

Launched in partnership with Visa, Suncorp’s PayLater card will be accepted everywhere Visa already is. In this sense, it is something of an analogue of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s StepPay, which does much the same with the Mastercard network.

“The ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ sector is evolving rapidly as consumers increasingly seek flexibility and choice in how they pay, both in-store and when shopping online,” said Julian, Visa Group Manager for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Potter.

In addition to removing the hurdle of requiring merchants to do the work of maintaining yet another BNPL app, this emphasis on infrastructure also means that merchants themselves benefit through reduced fees.

Mr van Horen described PayLater as a win for businesses struggling in the market conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our PayLater offering eliminates additional costs for those businesses that currently pay millions of dollars in traditional fees to BNPL,” he said.

Rather than relying on its own app, PayLater is integrated into Suncorp’s existing mobile banking app.

Like Afterpay, purchases made using StepPay are interest-free. Instead of paying upfront, customers can split purchases worth more than $50 but less than $1,000 into four monthly installments.

Late fees are limited to $10 per purchase with a two-day grace period.

Where PayLater departs from the template set by other BNPL operators is that it does credit checks up front and that Suncorp will issue eligible customers with a physical card, allowing them to make BNPL purchases without their phone.

Suncorp aims to launch PayLater in November, but is asking customers to register their interest from today.