The Game of Trends

Human life is as far as it gets from being linear. Instead, it is a blend of experiences that stretch across a wide spectrum. Each experience shapes us in some way or another and leaves an indelible mark on our lives. This is largely a known fact, but what we don’t study much about is how these experiences are formed on a granular level. If we study them, we would realize that different trends we make our way through in life play an essential role in forming these experiences. These trends, while looking very straightforward from the outside, end up triggering substantial changes in our habits, and consequentially, in us. Over the years, human race has found itself in the middle of many such trends, which have helped us in getting to this point. Nevertheless, there has been a major shake-up recently, and it is ramping up the world of trends.

The emergence of technology has digitized our experiences and that is because these days we are mostly interacting with virtual trends, which are huge in depth and number. These trends are subtly orchestrating our growth, and now there is another entrant into this category that is out to redefine the world of fintech.

It’s a safe assumption to make that we have reached a certain point in our progression where we can call digital payments and other tech-driven financial services as an integral part of our commercial fabric. Life has become easy and seamless by not having to rely on cash or wire transfer payments. This seamlessness might be heading for a higher level as we see the concept of “buy now, pay later” gaining ground. Amidst this transition, Square might just have provided a big boost to the said concept.

It was recently announced that financial services conglomerate, Square has acquired oceanic company, Afterpay. The move is viewed as Square’s bid to foray into modern credit services, which are becoming increasingly popular in the currently volatile market. Square’s ambition to be one of the first few providers of these services was visible as they paid a hefty 30% premium on Afterpay’s stock price and made it a deal worth $29 billion.

As Square acquires Afterpay’s client base of 16 million users, it looks to integrate the new setup into its existing seller and Cash App portals, thus creating a more comprehensive financial platform.