With Square’s $29b acquisition in Afterpay last month, Affirm’s recent partnership with Amazon (AMZN), and news of an Apple-Goldman (APPL-GS) BNPL collab, the BNPL space is clearly in an everything-up-for-grabs mode. BNPL has now reached Japanese shores as well, with PayPal's (PYPL) recent hot off-the-press acquisition. The US e-payments provider has been on the forefront of the BNPL push as it acquired Sezzle and Zip Co, Australian BNPL companies, last year. 

Now, Paidy’s the latest in PayPal's line-of-sight. The Japanese BNPL start-up is being sold at a purchase price of $3b and is set to bring its 6 million users under PayPal’s wings. The platform will retain its own brand and mainly be used as a way for PayPal to enter the Japanese market, where 66% of all purchases are still made in cash. Sounds similar to the Middle East a few years ago, no?