ThriveCart, the sales and payments platform for digital entrepreneurs, has launched ThrivePay Installments, a new card-linked payment solution designed to rival traditional Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) models by leveraging consumers’ existing credit limits.
The new feature allows customers to split purchases into 3, 6, or 12 monthly payments using the pre-authorized limits on their existing credit cards. Crucially, while the customer pays over time, the merchant receives the full funds upfront.
Tapping into pre-existing credit
ThriveCart positions the tool as a solution to the limitations of standard BNPL providers, which typically rely on new consumer loans, underwriting, and geography-specific approvals. By utilising existing credit card limits instead, ThrivePay aims to unlock an estimated $3.3trillion in unused available credit in the US alone.
Because the system relies on pre-approved credit rather than new loan applications, ThriveCart reports significantly higher approval rates of approximately 85 per cent.
Ismael Wrixen, CEO of ThriveCart, explained that the move addresses a shift in the digital economy toward higher-ticket items where traditional BNPL often struggles.
“The digital economy has moved upmarket,” said Wrixen. “BNPL works well for smaller local purchases, but ThrivePay Installments extends installment payments globally and to higher-ticket products, with approval rates doubling to approximately 85%.”
No new consumer debt
The platform, which has processed over $8billion in sales across 70 million transactions to date, is targeting digital course creators, coaches, and cross-border businesses. These sectors often face high decline rates with traditional financing options due to high transaction values or cross-border complexities.
Georgios Kartakis, head of payments at ThriveCart, emphasised that the solution avoids originating new debt for the consumer.
“We designed ThrivePay to avoid originating new consumer debt,” Kartakis said. “This means we can unlock pre-existing credit available to a customer in the U.S., to a merchant based almost anywhere globally, all without creating new loan obligations. This is a huge advantage ThriveCart merchants now have over their competitors.”
The service supports one-time purchases for digital or physical goods, as well as subscriptions, offering a “pay-later” access point for merchants in markets that have traditionally been underserved by loan-based financing providers.