Newsletter 06/23

• UK-based payments technology company Zilch has announced a partnership with debt advice charity StepChange Debt Charity to help customers access financial help quicker during the current cost of living crisis. Zilch will become the first provider of credit via BNPL to fully integrate StepChange Direct into its digital platform. The companies have worked together closely to come up with a few steps that are currently required when asking for financial aid to make referrals to debt advice more effectively for customers in need. The UK company is committed to promote financial inclusion to customers across the country, while also protecting them against debt. At the beginning of 2023, Zilch announced a new strategic agreement with reputable CRAs that will see customers’ borrowing and repayment activity through Zilch credit to influence their credit scores and profiles. http://bit.ly/3JSMdc8

• UK-based fintech iwoca has integrated its B2B payment solution iwocaPay with QuickBooks Company accounting software package, making this invoice checkout integration available across the UK. Quickbooks supports UK businesses with their accounting needs via a cloud-first approach that allows them to run their finances on the go from mobile devices. iwocaPay makes invoice checkout seamless, allowing buyers to settle via either Pay Now or Pay Later. http://bit.ly/3DU0mlr

• Mondu unveils new Buy Now, Pay Later product for B2B sales. Mondu, a B2B payments firm, has launched a new solution for B2B merchants offering flexible payments on every sales channel. Founded in 2021, Mondu’s solutions are available to business customers in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands with further market expansion planned for later this year. Mondu claims that MonduSell provides the most popular B2B payment methods and flexible terms while conveniently processing orders from any sales channel in real-time. https://bit.ly/3JQIjR6

• Buy Now, Pay Later firm Atome said it is planning to move beyond "Pay-in-3" deferred payments, and will soon launch multi-tenure plans of 6 and 12 months. Atome said this was in response to strong demand and interest from both retailers and consumers. "As the Philippines emerges from the pandemic with dramatic changes in both consumer and retailer mindsets, we’re very excited to roll out new products such as the Atome Card and our multi-tenure products to broaden financial access and better address the needs of underbanked and underserved Filipinos,” said Zine Nedil, general manager of Atome Philippines. http://bit.ly/3RTtorh

• Buy Now, Pay Later solution for travelling and retailing brands, Flex Pay , has recently announced a new partnership with cruise planning company Margaritaville at Sea to offer customers instalment payments on bookings. The new payment offering allows customers to reserve cruise experiences by spreading the overall cost of their trip over monthly payments and, for a limited time, Margaritaville at Sea will also be offering interest-free payments via its partnership with Uplift. Additionally, Uplift’s pay over time option will allow customers to easily upgrade to a larger cabin class or add on-board amenities or shore trips. http://bit.ly/40KBdn6

• Buy Now, Pay Later platform Affirm announced it has cut 19% of its workforce, amounting to 500 employees, and ends its Crypto project. In a letter to workers regarding the layoffs, CEO Max Levchin stated that “Everything changed in mid-2022,” and further indicated that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy “dampened consumer spending and increased Affirm’s cost of borrowing dramatically. The root cause of where we are today is that I acted too slowly as these macroeconomic changes unfolded.” The restructuring plan is expected to cost between $35-$39 million. In a letter to shareholders, Levchin wrote: "Growing rapidly over the last few years, and especially through the pandemic, we hired ahead of the revenue required to support the size of the team.” The letter to shareholders also announced that the company would be “sunsetting several initiatives, such as Affirm Crypto.” http://bit.ly/3DS3ePK

• Buy Now, Pay Later company Openpay has entered receivership and shut its platform after it was voluntarily suspended from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Restructuring company McGrathNicol has been appointed receivers as creditors chase down the payments technology company following a quarter in which its net operating cash flow landed $18.2 million in the red. Following the ASX announcement, customers will no longer be able to use the Openpay platform for new purchases, but will still need to pay any outstanding balances in accordance with their existing agreements. The receivers and managers will work closely with Openpay’s employees, merchants and customers to urgently determine the appropriate strategy for the business. http://bit.ly/3DQn3Hi

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This is a wrap of global news coverage on the BNPL industry and does not necessary represent my view. This newsletter is in no shape or form related to my employer. Views expressed are my own.