In early trade on Monday the Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) share price is pushing higher.
At the time of writing, the buy now pay later provider's shares are up 7% to $1.39.
Why is the Splitit share price pushing higher?
Investors have been buying the company's shares this morning after it announced the signing of an agreement with tech giant Google in Japan.
According to the release, for the first time ever, Google customers will be able to use instalment plans to make purchases from the Google Store in Japan.
In the coming weeks, customers purchasing Google's new 5G phone, the Pixel 5, or Nest devices from the Google Store, will be able to split their payments into equal monthly instalments.
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) rival has, however, warned that the materiality of the agreement with Google in Japan is unknown "due to the variable nature of revenues which are dependent on customer uptake of specific products."
Asian opportunity.
Splitit's CEO, Brad Paterson, commented: "This is one of the strongest case studies yet of our unique offering. We are working with Google in its effort to provide the best possible experience for its customers, and the seamless integration of Splitit into Google Store Japan means they never have to leave the platform."
Mr Paterson appears to believe that Japan is a great fit for Splitit due to the high prevalence of credit card use in the country.
He explained: "Splitit is the only instalment provider to service the huge credit card industry, with 68% of adults in Japan holding a credit card, the highest in Asia. Splitit does not issue new credit to consumers, but rather allows existing credit card holders to make higher value purchases more easily, without incurring additional costs or fees. We are excited to allow Google customers to use their existing credit to pay for their new Pixel 5, Nest or Chromecast products."
"This partnership marks the next phase in our expansion into Asia as we continue to grow our footprint with our global platform" he concluded.
