Christine Roberts, Head of Citizens Pay | Episode 194

My guest on this episode has been with Citizens for more than 10 years, previously serving as the Head of Student Lending. She is a 30-year veteran of the financial services industry and has held several roles at the company, including sales, branch planning and operations, and product management. Her favorite role so far? She loves being a mentor. Head of Citizens Pay Christine Roberts has a genuine passion for finding and growing talent. 

For those of you who don’t know, Citizens Pay is the market leader in combining point of sale financing with buy now pay later. Citizens is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $226.7 billion in assets as of June 30, 2022.

As for what put Citizens Pay on the map, we have Apple to thank for that. According to Christine, Citizens Pay spearheaded the buy now pay later (BNPL) industry in an effort to help iPhone users have the financial bandwidth to consistently upgrade their technology.

As for what makes Citizens Pay different than many of the other BNPL companies out there, a lot of it has to do with their direct affiliation with Citizens Bank. Simply stated, they are prolific lender with advanced technology capabilities that enable them to successfully operate in a regulated atmosphere while other fintechs sometimes struggle in the regulated lending space. 

Their dominant verticals are technology, medical/dental, furniture, travel, and home improvement, and they offer an open line of credit to their qualified consumers that allows for repeat purchasing within the same credit line. And this is a huge benefit for merchants in that it allows their consumers to make larger purchases and even upgrade their repeat purchases at a faster rate.

Tune in to hear Christine talk about the crucial elements that impact the sustainability of the lending space, and how Citizens Pay is navigating being the leader in combining point of sale financing with BNPL.