Bill Me Later

About Bill Me Later

Bill Me Later, Inc. operated as a financial technology company that provided a transactional credit service for online shoppers. The company was established in 2000, initially named I4 Commerce, by a team of founders including Vince Talbert, Gary Marino, Mark Lavelle, and Tom Keithley, who brought extensive experience from the credit card and payments industry. The founding team identified a key opportunity to integrate credit offerings at the point of sale in e-commerce, aiming to reduce friction in the purchasing process for consumers who were hesitant to use credit cards online or did not possess one.

The company's core product allowed consumers to make online purchases and receive a bill later, without needing to input credit card details during checkout. To complete a purchase, customers only had to provide their date of birth and the last four digits of their social security number, with credit approval decisions rendered in seconds through a real-time risk model. This streamlined process was designed to increase sales and average order values for merchants. Bill Me Later's business model generated revenue through transaction fees charged to merchants, which were positioned as being lower than traditional credit card fees, and through interest collected from consumers on outstanding balances.

The service attracted a network of over 1,000 top-tier retailers, including major names like Walmart.com, Apple, JetBlue, and Toys "R" Us. In addition to its primary consumer offering, the company also provided "Bill Me Later Business" for corporate purchasing and a private label credit solution. A significant milestone occurred in November 2008 when eBay Inc. acquired Bill Me Later for approximately $820 million in cash and $125 million in options, integrating it with its PayPal division. Following the acquisition, the service was rebranded as PayPal Credit and expanded its availability across the PayPal network, eventually becoming a global portfolio of credit solutions.