Afterpay, Zip ink bundled services deal with Westpac
Afterpay and Zip have struck deals with Westpac and Visa to bundle their services, giving the buy-now-pay-later providers access to many more customers.
Westpac has halted the closure of several rural branches while a Senate inquiry goes ahead. (Image: Westpac)
Afterpay on Tuesday said it will offer its 3.3 million users in Australia the ability to link Westpac transaction and savings accounts.
This will let users pay bills, withdraw funds and use budgeting tools.
The linking of the services has been made possible by Westpac’s new digital banking platform.
The nation’s big banks are scrambling to find new ways to appeal to young, tech-savvy customers who do not use credit cards.
The Commonwealth Bank has taken a stake in Swedish buy-now-pay-later provider Klarna, and offers the app to customers.
Zip on Tuesday said its users will be able to pay at any store that accepts Visa cards.
Zip users will be able to scan their phone and digital wallet on any payment terminal that reads Visa cards.
The buy-now-pay-later provider said it had reviewed how customers used its technology at shops, which has been based on QR codes, and found it clunky.
Only 13 per cent of shops in Australia accept buy-now-pay-later transactions, according to Zip.
Shares in Zip were higher by 1.67 per cent to $7.29 at 1151 AEDT.
Shares in Afterpay rose above $100 and were 8.3 per cent higher to $105.63.
Westpac shares were down 0.88 per cent to $18.61.
-AAP
