Jack Dorsey’s Block completes $29bn Afterpay acquisition

The US fintech giant behind the Square and Cash apps is now a major player in the Buy Now Pay Later arms race.

Block has completed its $29bn acquisition of ‘buy now, pay later firm Afterpay.

Under the deal, first announced back in August 2021, Block - which is headed by the Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and owns the Square and Cash apps - has acquired all of the issued shares in Afterpay. 

This will allow its merchant customers in the United States and Australia of all sizes to offer 'buy now, pay later' at checkout. 

Also, Afterpay’s customers will have the ability to manage their installment payments directly in the Cash app. Cash App customers will also now be able to discover sellers and BNPL offers directly within the app.

“We’re excited to welcome the Afterpay team to Block and are eager to get to work,” said Jack Dorsey, Block co-founder and CEO. 

“Together, we’ll deliver even better products and services for sellers and consumers while staying true to our shared purpose of making the financial system more fair and accessible to everyone.

Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar co-founded Afterpay in 2014. The pair will both join Block, helping to lead Afterpay’s respective seller and consumer businesses, as part of Block’s Square and Cash App ecosystems.

Sharon Rothstein, a former Afterpay Director and Operating Partner at growth equity firm Stripes, will join Block’s board of directors. 

Square provides commerce solutions, business software, and banking services to companies. The Cash app, meanwhile, offers customers the ability to send, spend, or invest their money in stocks or Bitcoin.