AfterPay

Westpac signs Afterpay as first banking as a service customer
Buy now pay later company Afterpay is the first business to use Westpac’s “banking as a service” solution, the bank announced today. The deal will allow Afterpay to offer its customers Westpac’s transaction and savings accounts and money management tools. Westpac announced plans in November to partner with 10x Future

No further regulatory action against Afterpay, following money laundering audit
AUSTRAC says that in response to the findings and recommendations identified in the external audit report, Afterpay has improved its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing compliance framework and financial crime function. The Buy Now Pay Later vendor came under scrutiny from AUSTRAC, the Australian Government agency responsible for detecting, deterring,

How Afterpay dealt with an increase in inquiries due to COVID-19
Afterpay faced a surge of inquiries from their customers worried about whether or not they could pay for their goods as COVID-19 restrictions closed down large parts of the Australian economy. During the Zendesk Showcase last week, Yvonne Gilmour, head of service delivery at Afterpay said the surge in inquiries

Tencent takes a 5 per cent slice of Afterpay
Chinese internet giant Tencent has acquired a 5 per cent stake in Australian buy now, pay later service Afterpay. Announced on Friday, the deal will support Afterpay’s global growth strategy, following its expansion into the US and UK markets. The stake was acquired from late March through April for around

Buy Now Pay Later market to double by 2023: Report
Nearly 2 million Australians used a “buy now, pay later” product like Afterpay or ZipPay last year, according to research from Worldpay, which predicts the local market will double in the next three years. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) has grown from three per cent of all ecommerce payments in

The ASX all-tech index set to make its market debut
Australia’s new all-tech index goes live today. The new index captures ASX-listed companies in the fast-growing technology sector. S&P/ASX All Technology Index, trading under the symbol XTX, was launched on Friday by the ASX in partnership with S&P Dow Jones Indices. The All Tech Index operates under an S&PDJI methodology

Minicast: What makes Klarna different
The buy now, pay later market is heating up. Over the last five years, several BNPL providers have emerged which allow shoppers to pay by installments over time, instead of paying the full amount upfront. Last month a new global competitor, Klarna, arrived in Australia with serious backing from the

Klarna’s business model adds new competition to buy now, pay later market
Retailers have welcomed the launch of Klarna in the Australian market and view the Swedish buy now, pay later company as providing a point of difference in the crowded payments space. Klarna, which is backed by CommBank, launched in Australia a fortnight ago, the company’s 17th market. This global presence

Buy Now Pay Later service Klarna launches in Oz with $300 million backing from CommBank
CommBank is making a big play in the buy now, pay later space, investing a total of US$300 million in Swedish Afterpay rival Klarna which officially launched in Australia today. The bank initially invested US$100 million in Klarna in August 2018, to become its exclusive partner in Australia and New

Cover Story: Minicasts – Neobanks muscle in, Adtech’s big lie, Privacy pushback, Afterpay’s catch
Something a little different for our final cover story of the decade. We asked Which-50’s lead writers to tell ‘the story behind the story’ that most resonated with them this year. The four they chose are snapshots of the massive transformations which are underway in businesses and society—and they represent