Processors Commoditize BNPL Pressuring Scalapay

The center of gravity in BNPL is shifting from branded lenders to checkout gatekeepers. When Stripe, Adyen, and Nexi let a merchant switch on installment options inside the same payments stack they already use, BNPL starts to look less like a distinct product sale and more like another checkout setting. That weakens standalone providers by making merchant access easier to win for platforms, while pushing provider economics toward lower take rates and less control of the shopper relationship.

• Stripe already lists Klarna, Alma, Scalapay, and SeQura inside one BNPL menu, and merchants can enable these methods through Stripe Checkout and related payment surfaces. In practice, the processor owns the integration, reporting, and payout flow, while the lender becomes a plugged in funding layer behind the button.
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• Adyen has taken the same path with Klarna support across ecommerce and point of sale surfaces. Nexi moved further in February 2025 by signing a group partnership with Klarna to add BNPL into its merchant acceptance stack, showing how processors are packaging installments as part of broader acquiring bundles.
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• This is especially hard for regional specialists because the biggest BNPL brands are also widening distribution beyond their own apps. Klarna pairs processor distribution with Apple Pay in Italy and France, while Scalapay still depends heavily on merchant fees, which were 2.7% of TTV in 2024, so any checkout level fee pressure falls directly on its core revenue stream.
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The next phase is a market where processors control checkout real estate and BNPL providers compete to be the best underlying lender. For Scalapay, that means winning on local underwriting, merchant service, and in store distribution, while building products like app commerce, subscriptions, and card based acceptance that keep some customer ownership outside the processor controlled checkout.