Zip Co (ASX: ZIP), the Australian buy now, pay later provider, announced on 26 October 2026 that its partnership with Best Buy now covers physical Best Buy stores across the US, where eligible customers can pay with Zip by tapping the Zip app at the register. Fintechbits compared the announcement with Affirm’s Sam’s Club agreement of 22 October 2026, which Affirm described as exclusive and multi-year, and the Zip Best Buy release uses neither word and gives no contract length. Zip says its US in-store transaction volume grew 61% year on year in its Q1 FY27 quarter and reached 30% of total US transaction volume, according to the Zip release on BusinessWire.

What the Zip Best Buy Expansion Changes

The release describes the nationwide rollout as bringing “the same flexibility they enjoy online to the in-store experience”. Checkout runs through tap to pay on the customer’s phone, using the Zip app, rather than through a separate integration with Best Buy’s terminals.

Peter Volynsky, chief commercial officer at Zip US, framed the use case around unplanned purchases: an appliance that stops working or a laptop that dies mid-semester. That is a fair description of consumer electronics demand, and it is the category where pay-over-time already does well, because the tickets are large and the purchases are often urgent.

Zip gives three scale figures, all sourced to its Q1 FY27 results filed with the ASX: more than 32,600 US merchant partners, 4.7 million active US customers, and in-store purchases at 30% of total US transaction volume. The release adds that loans through Zip are originated by WebBank.

How Zip Best Buy Compares With Affirm at Sam’s Club

Four days before Zip’s announcement, Affirm announced an exclusive, multi-year deal with Sam’s Club, covering SamsClub.com first and Sam’s Club stores during 2027. Affirm’s release still left out financial terms and interest rates, but it did state exclusivity and duration.

Zip’s release states neither. It does not say whether Zip is the only pay-over-time option at Best Buy’s registers, how many stores are live, when the rollout finished, or what Best Buy pays in merchant fees. Exclusivity matters here because it decides whether Zip is the default choice at checkout or one of several payment logos a shopper sees.

Fintechbits analysis

Why the 61% In-Store Figure Matters More Than the Logo

The Best Buy name is the headline, but the more important number is 30%. Pay-over-time providers have spent years trying to prove that their products work offline, where card networks and store cards dominate. Zip says nearly a third of its US volume now happens in physical stores, and that in-store volume grew 61% in a year. If that holds, Zip has a credible story that BNPL is a payment method rather than an online checkout button.

Best Buy is a sensible place to test it. Electronics and appliances are the purchases where a customer is most likely to want to spread the cost, and the tap-to-pay route means Zip does not need deep terminal integration at every store.

The weakness is economic rather than strategic. Zip has been broadening its funding base, adding Column N.A. as a second US bank partner on 19 October 2026 while WebBank still originates loans, and it plans a same-day Zip Cash loan for the holiday season. All of that costs money to fund. A non-exclusive store presence at a retailer with strong bargaining power usually comes with thin merchant fees. Zip’s in-store growth is real, but the release gives investors no way to judge whether the Best Buy expansion is profitable volume or just more volume.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Zip Best Buy expansion?

Zip’s expansion brings its pay-over-time option into Best Buy stores across the US. Eligible customers pay at the register by tapping the Zip app on their phone, and loans are originated by WebBank.

How fast is Zip’s in-store business growing?

Zip says its US in-store transaction volume grew 61% year on year in Q1 FY27, with in-store purchases reaching 30% of total US transaction volume. It reports more than 32,600 US merchant partners and 4.7 million active US customers.

How does the deal compare with Affirm’s Sam’s Club agreement?

Fintechbits compared the two: Affirm called its 22 October 2026 Sam’s Club deal exclusive and multi-year, while the Zip Best Buy release uses neither word and gives no contract length. That leaves open whether Zip is the only pay-over-time option at Best Buy’s registers.

What to Watch Next

The figure that would settle the value of this deal is Zip’s next ASX update, specifically whether US in-store volume keeps growing above 60% once Best Buy stores are fully counted, and whether revenue margin holds as the in-store share rises. A clear statement from either company on exclusivity would also tell the market whether Zip has won Best Buy’s register or merely joined it.