By Mario Toneguzzi

Flexiti Financial, a provider of point-of-sale consumer financing and payment technology, is now helping Canadian retailers grow sales through e-commerce - an increasingly critical sales channel.

The Toronto-based company has launched an online consumer financing offering at checkout, the first of its kind in the country.

Peter Kalen, founder and CEO of Flexiti Financial, said the launch levels the playing field with U.S. merchants who have had similar options for years due to innovative new lenders entering the marketplace.

The easy to integrate online lending platform offers credit to customers at a low cost to retailers.

“We have created the most technologically advanced financing platform in Canada to provide merchants better sales financing options to boost their bottom line,” said Kalen. “With our platform, our retail partners have seen up to a 380 per cent increase of in-store financed sales. As Canadians continue to embrace online shopping, Flexiti Financial is thrilled to offer our solution to help merchants achieve the same sales online."

“The objective is to make the purchase more affordable for the consumer and to help retailers grow their sales.”

And that is important in this day and age as the retail market is increasingly more challenging and competitive.

Flexiti Financial, a sales financing company, launched in 2013. The company helps retailers increase their bottom line by providing a better sales financing option than a standard credit card with lower interest rates, longer payment terms and revolving credit. Using a mobile application process and ID scanning technology, it provides retailers with quick, simple and instant POS financing for customers. The financing application can be completed on any device, anywhere, and provide credit approval within minutes. The company says it has higher than average approval rates and offers retailers’ customers flexible payment options at interest rates significantly below current options in the market.

“Every retailer we talk to says they’re blown away by how much their sales are growing through our point-of-sale financing platform,” said Kalen.

The company says its POS lending platform offers low rates for retailers who want to offer their customers flexible payment options, such as zero per cent interest financing. They can simply select “Flexiti” as a payment method during checkout, apply, and receive approval for Flexiti’s virtual credit card – within seconds. Merchants receive payment in less than two days.

The new online financing product provides customers with access to open credit, with interest rates as low as zero per cent, through its virtual credit card, eliminating the need to re-apply for financing towards future purchases. For merchants utilizing the product, this is a major advantage over instalment loans which require new applications for each purchase. The online lending platform is easily integrated with Flexiti Financial’s existing in-store POS system, allowing retailers to offer the same financing solution across all sales channels to increase revenue and build loyalty through repeat purchases, whether in-store or online.

Flexiti says the potential impact of online financing for retailers in Canada cannot be ignored. In the coming decade, it is estimated that 35 per cent of Canadian retail sales growth will be delivered online, up from seven per cent today.

Kalen said 42 per cent of customers are more likely to shop at an e-retailer that offers financing, and retailers that do have seen a 15 per cent increase in the order value at the point of check out.

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*Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, contact Craig Patterson at: craig@retail-insider.com.

READ MORE ARTICLES BY MARIO TONEGUZZI