在北京时间8月3日的清晨，美国移动支付巨头Square宣布，将投入290亿美元以收购澳大利亚的金融科技支付公司Afterpay。这一消息如同春风拂过田野，让人不禁思考着未来市场的走向。D.A. Davidson的一位分析师克里斯托弗·布伦德认为，这次收购可能会为Square打开更多的大门，因为万事达、Visa和PayPal等公司也对这一领域表现出了浓厚兴趣。他指出，BNPL（先买后付）模式已经逐渐成为主流，而Square此举无疑会吸引全行业的关注。

Afterpay的两位创始人将分别获得大约25亿美元的回报，这份丰厚的利润是他们辛勤工作多年的成果。而腾讯作为早期投资者，也将从这次交易中受益。在2020年，腾讯向Afterpay投资了3亿美元，并获得了5%的股份，现在随着公司即将出售其股份，腾讯预计能够赚取17亿美元。

值得注意的是，在短短一年内，Afterpay从最初10澳元的小市值，一跃至当前114.80澳元。During this period, Afterpay has rapidly expanded its presence in the US market, amassing a large user base. With the acquisition of Afterpay, Square will become a formidable competitor to PayPal and Swedish startup Klarna, which is valued at 460 billion dollars even before going public.

According to insiders, Square had been in talks with Afterpay for almost a year before making this move. Confident that they would not face any competition, Square made the bold decision to take on this major investment. As we look back on this momentous day in financial history, it's clear that Square's vision for the future is one of growth and innovation – and they're willing to invest big to make it happen.