There are many different consumer financing companies out there for merchants to choose from. While many of them seem to provide the same services, there are significant differences that give each company its own distinct advantages. To ensure that merchants find the best partner, we decided to make a “best of” list for any of the goals a business owner may have for their fintech provider.

In order to meet every business owner where they are, we are going to list these companies not in order of overall quality but by which company is best for each individual goal or circumstance. We are doing this because quality is highly subjective depending on what a merchant is looking to accomplish.

Our list of consumer financing companies include:

• Affirm (Cleanest user interface) 
• PayPal (Largest native userbase)
• Sezzle (Best for only offering Pay-in-4)
• Skeps (Best variety of financing options)

Affirm: Cleanest User Interface

Affirm is one of the biggest fintech providers in the consumer financing space, and their biggest x-factor is their Adaptive Checkout feature. With Adaptive Checkout, customers are shown a convenient menu that displays the basic terms of each financing option that Affirm offers, making it much easier for consumers to understand and choose from them.

The retailer that would benefit most from a company like Affirm is one looking to offer limited loan options to consumers that may not be that accustomed to obtaining financing. Their creative UI makes it extremely simple even for those who have never filled out a credit application before, making them more likely to take financing and increase the frequency or size of their purchases.

PayPal: Largest Native Userbase

PayPal is the world's largest buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, and there is no question why. As far as fintech companies are concerned, they are easily among the most well-known and widely used. This means that those who choose to partner with PayPal are tapping into a massive group of pre-existing users that already trust them as a funding source.

Retailers that may be interested in partnering with PayPal hold reputability above all else or need growth and want a better chance of actually growing their consumer base through their fintech partner. PayPal is the obvious choice in this situation because it has millions of users and is one of the most trusted fintechs in existence.

Sezzle: Best for Only Offering Pay-in-4

Sezzle is one of the youngest firms in the BNPL space, but they have developed a tremendous reputation for the simplicity and speed of their service. The key to their easy funding process is in the fact that they only offer pay-in-four. This means that every financing plan offered by Sezzle is a 0-interest, 4-payment plan that takes place over a maximum of 6 weeks. Since they only offer one structure, it is a simple yes-or-no process that consumers have come to love.

The ideal retailer for Sezzle is one that sells smaller-ticket merchandise since they will only be able to break purchases up into four payments. While this may seem limiting, simplicity is the key to moving volume in the retail business, and no fintech keeps things simpler than Sezzle.

Skeps: Widest Variety of Financing Options

Skeps differs from the rest of the fintechs on this list by not offering our own funds but rather working with an entire network of trustworthy lenders to connect their offers with retailers that need to offer them. By working with multiple lenders that each offer different funding products, and have different credit requirements, Skeps ensures that retailers can offer financing to as many customers as possible in as many forms as possible.

The ideal retailer for Skeps is one that is looking for a partner that can grow with them no matter how big they get or how big-ticket their most expensive products or services are. Skeps is the “one-size-fits-all” option that can meet the needs of small-ticket volume-based retailers all the way up to medical care and home improvement providers that hand out bills up to the six-figure range.

Benefit from Consumer Financing Companies With Skeps

Skeps offers a comprehensive, end-to-end consumer financing program that helps businesses modernize their entire payment process. We go above and beyond one-click payment, also offering a one-click application process for several different types of consumer financing, including:

• BNPL
• Consumer loans and leases
• Branded credit cards

If you’re looking to partner with a forward-thinking fintech company that will keep consumers' eyes on the purchase while offering best-in-class financing, Skeps is the perfect fit.