Fast fashion brands partner with PSPs to gain consumer trust

The fast fashion industry focuses on a business model that involves the process of rapid design, production, and marketing of clothing styles that are inspired by traditional fashion brands. Included in the main benefits of the market are its overall affordability and the capability to keep up with the latest fashion trends. 

However, the main drawbacks of the industry are represented by its environmental impact, as the process of designing fast fashion products often involves the use of harmful chemicals and water resources, which is followed by excess waste and pollution. Furthermore, its impact on workers’ rights has been an important subject in the matter, as brands are often accused of exploiting workers, paying them low wages, and offering them overall poor working conditions. The distribution phase also faced sustainability issues, primarily due to the carbon footprint that is associated with the process of transporting goods from manufacturers to retailers and ultimately to individuals.

In addition, multiple fast fashion companies were accused of violating the data privacy of their customers. One of the most known examples of this is the uproar surrounding Temu, which had over 100 million users in the US making complaints against its application for stealing their data and funds from their credit cards.  

According to research made by Legit Check, the global fast fashion market is expected to grow from USD 106.42 billion in 2022 to USD 182.96 billion in 2027. The main drivers of the fast fashion market are represented by the increasing adoption of affordable clothes by the rising youth population, as well as the use of virtual and augmented reality in the market. The industry accounted for approximately 7.23% of the total USD 1.7 trillion fashion industry in 2023.  

The research also mentioned that Shein’s market share in the US fast fashion market went from 18% in March 2020 to 40% in March 2022. Zara remained at 17%, while H&M declined from 37% to 27%, and Fashion Nova and Forever 21 also saw drops in their shares during this time.

The top fast fashion brands in Europe were Zara (Inditex) with USD 28.7 billion, H&M with USD 21.4 billion, Primark (Associated British Foods) with USD 9.5 billion, and others. The fast fashion revenue in Europe is currently led by the UK, with USD 73.38 billion, followed by Germany with USD 61.76 billion, with Luxembourg having the lowest revenue at USD 962.15 million. 

The use of digital payments for accelerating development

With the rise of the overall ecommerce sector, customers increasingly turn to online platforms in order to access trendy clothing items within an affordable price range, as well as secure and optimised payment experiences. However, as clients become more conscious of fast fashion’s concerns regarding data privacy, carbon emission, and worker impact, several companies have shifted their focus to securing partnerships with financial institutions to gain customer trust. 

While traditional methods for digital payments (including debit or credit cards) remain popular, many customers prefer forms of payment, such as BNPL, cryptocurrency, and digital wallets as well. BNPL has particularly become popular among Gen Z and millennials for fashion shopping. In addition, this shift to digital payments is becoming increasingly important as an origination point for shoppers’ decision-making processes, and not merely just a checkout option, according to a McKinsey report. In addition, it may also signal the overall need for payment providers to think about how they can reach and engage customers earlier in the shopping process. 

With this in mind, it is important for fashion retailers to consider where they’re meeting their clients and how they’re optimising their suite of solutions and checkout experience. According to Statista, the ecommerce fashion industry’s CAGR is projected to reach 13.3% between 2023 and 2027, with the industry hitting a USD 770.9 billion valuation in 2024. 

Recent partnerships

As fast fashion becomes more and more popular, so is the overall demand for efficient and secure payments in the industry. Furthermore, as the reputation of those companies has been questioned in the last couple of years, more and more initiatives to regain customer trust and brand credibility have been taking place. 

In January 2025, Bambuser announced the launch in China of a dedicated platform for Zara, which integrated livestream shopping and video ecommerce across its channels. The deal was timed with the launch of Zara’s `Chinese New Year` collection, which was made available for clients to purchase through shoppable livestreams. 

In the last couple of months, another company that focused on expanding its reach and customer trust through partnerships with financial institutions is Temu. Its collaborations took place during a period of increased challenges for emerging markets, with them facing barriers in accessing global ecommerce, including limited payment options and scaled unbanked populations. 

The company also had one of the biggest scandals last year, as its development has been shadowed by its data collection practices. According to Medium, experts have shown that the firm’s application collected far more data than needed, leaving users unaware of the depth of information that was being gathered. Furthermore, this practice also meant that customers’ most sensitive data was shared, sold, and used without their permission, while also bypassing phone privacy settings in order to access biometric or card information and leverage their funds. 

Temu announced its partnership with Atome in February 2025, in order to enable customers to select the latter’s solutions as their preferred payment method during checkout. Through this move, the fashion brand aimed to provide Malaysian customers with the possibility of benefiting from interest-free installment payment options when shopping for a range of products on its platform. In the same month, Temu announced its partnership with Nuvei. The collaboration focused on optimising the customer shopping experience through the use of improved access to preferred payment methods. 

Later in March 2025, Temu partnered with Checkout.com to optimise the digital payments experience for online shoppers. The deal focused on providing clients with the possibility to access an optimised and secure checkout experience through the use of Checkout.com’s global payment network and technology. The company was also set to handle payments in over 30 markets in order to support a wide range of payment options, from major credit cards like Visa and Mastercard to digital wallets and regional solutions like Tamara. In the same month, Temu also partnered with dLocal. The collaboration allowed the fast fashion firm to improve the shopping experience for customers in 14 emerging markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 

In April 2025, Adyen announced its expanded partnership with Temu. Back in 2022, Adyen enabled Temu to launch its operations in the US, as well as allowing the fashion company to enter new markets while maintaining a comprehensive overview of transactions across different regions. 

Although Temu has announced multiple deals in order to optimise its image as a trusted provider, these types of collaborations are not new to the market, as fast fashion brands have looked for ways to improve customer trust for a while now. For example, back in 2024, Shein partnered with Stori in order to introduce its first branded credit card around the world. The initiative aimed to leverage elements that could benefit both firms, as they prioritised the process of expanding within the region of Mexico. 

Social media plays an important role in the ecommerce marketing strategies of multiple online fashion brands, including the fast fashion industry. According to research made by Shopify, 62% of customers watch videos in order to learn about a product before they buy it, with platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook Marketplace driving sales for large fashion brands. This process takes place by allowing shoppers to visualise the product on an influencer or a public figure before buying it. 

At the same time, social media has become a place for shoppers to buy as they learn, through in-app integrated shopping experiences. This strategy was developed in order to shorten the line between influencer product promotion and the actual payment, right inside the brand’s app. 

Social commerce sales are expected to reach one in five sales this year, with 70% of Instagram users leveraging the social media platform to make their next purchase. TikTok Shop’s integrated shopping strategy also shows potential, as it provides access to the platform’s users. In addition, current projections for shopping on the platform from Capital One indicate that 43% of users will utilise it to make online purchases by 2027. 

As customers become more and more aware of the practices made by fast fashion companies, there is also an overall expectation for firms to implement new strategies in order to optimise their presence in the industry and regain trust in the market.

These new strategies can also include ecommerce collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, expansions, or new service launches that could accelerate the development of the fast fashion industry without compromising the privacy of users or the overall environment. In addition, as the market is undergoing a fast transition towards customised shopping experiences, fuelled by multiple technological advancements in search and AI, fast fashion companies are expected to follow these transformations in order to stay relevant in the industry and optimise their overall customer experience. 

About Sînziana Albu

Sînziana is a Senior News Editor with a keen focus on fintech, payments, and digital identity. With a passion for unravelling the complexities of the rapidly evolving technological landscape, Sînziana is dedicated to delivering insightful news that keeps her readers informed.