VersaBank Finalizes Acquisition of Tiny Midwestern Bank (U.S.)
The U.S. point-of-sale (POS) lending market, driven primarily by Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and installment loan models, is set to experience substantial growth in the coming years. This growth aligns with the broader POS and fintech lending sectors, which are experiencing a surge in momentum.
According to market research, the global POS market was valued at around $28.9 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $111 billion by 2035, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 14.4% from 2026 to 2035. BNPL, a key component of POS lending, has reached significant scale in the U.S., as evidenced by Klarna's recent agreement to transfer $26 billion in U.S. BNPL loans to Nelnet.
The U.S. fintech lending market, which includes POS lending as part of consumer credit innovation, is also booming. North America's fintech market is projected to grow from approximately $88.4 billion in 2025 to $510 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 24.5%. This rapid fintech growth is supported by technological innovations such as AI, blockchain, and mobile payments, which are enhancing the customer experience and productivity in the lending sector.
Consumer credit demand also supports growth. The U.S. has 631 million active credit card accounts in 2025, with revolving credit card debt exceeding $1.18 trillion. This large base presents a significant opportunity for alternative credit products like POS lending to capture.
Lending fintech startups are expanding rapidly in consumer finance, including mortgage and non-mortgage loans, with digitization improving the customer experience and productivity. This digital transformation is expected to accelerate the adoption of POS lending options.
One such player entering the U.S. market is Canadian lender VersaBank. VersaBank, which launched its receivable purchase program (RPP) 14 years ago in Canada, has never had a loan loss. The company has recently completed the acquisition of Stearns Bank Holdingford, based in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, and renamed it VersaBank USA. The acquisition was facilitated by investment bank Raymond James.
VersaBank's RPP has amassed partnerships with approximately 275 North American finance firms and provided over $6.5 billion in funding since its launch in 2010. The company's RPP lending solution can launch with minimal capital and operating expenditures due to its cloud-based operation.
Regulators have expressed concerns about the potential for a run on the bank and moving funds, to which David Taylor, CEO of VersaBank, responded that VersaBank does not have branches or a consumer-accessible website. As of July 31, VersaBank's RPP portfolio has exceeded CAD$3.1 billion (US$2.1 billion) and has grown at a compounded annual rate of 26% over the last five years.
McKinsey & Co. dubbed POS lending "the next frontier of growth" in U.S. lending in 2019. The expansion of VersaBank's loan portfolio in the U.S. and continued growth in Canada is expected to generate strong and sustainable growth for years to come.
In conclusion, the growth potential for U.S. POS lending is very strong, given the large and increasing POS market size and technological evolution in payments and lending, the multi-billion-dollar volume of BNPL loans deployed at POS, and the large market of consumers with increasing credit needs and adoption of digital payment and credit solutions. While precise U.S.-only POS lending market size figures are not explicitly available, these combined data points indicate a multi-billion-dollar and high-growth market poised for expansion at double-digit CAGR over the next decade.
- The expansion of the fintech lending market, particularly in the United States, is propelled by the surge in technological advancements such as AI, blockchain, and mobile payments, which enhance customer experience and productivity in the business sector, including finance.
- The growth trajectory of POS lending, primarily driven by Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and installment loan models, is anticipated to align with the increasing consumer credit demand and the digital transformation in the finance industry, potentially reaching a market size of billions of dollars in the coming years.
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