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Tag: zip

  • Singtel Dash partners Zip for buy now, pay later options

    Singtel Dash partners Zip for buy now, pay later options

    Singtel and Zip, a leading global buy now, pay later (BNPL) player, announced an exclusive partnership to launch Zip’s pay later service in Singapore on the Dash app. This new service provides an alternate payment option for Dash customers, giving them the flexibility to choose between paying for their purchases immediately with Dash or paying later with Zip.Larry Diamond

    Dash customers can use Zip’s pay later service for in-store or online purchases from merchants such as Klook, Omnidesk, OSIM and Singtel. Zip’s current payment scheme offers four interest-free installments across six weeks. Over the next six months, Zip will be rolling out more payment schemes and bringing onboard more than 2,000 merchants through partner agreements with AsiaPay, Razer Merchant Services and HitPay.

    Gilbert Chuah, head of financial and lifestyle services at consumer Singapore, Singtel said, “Many of our customers want greater choice and control over managing their finances and our partnership with Zip provides just that with an alternative payment method that is transparent and flexible. This collaboration adds to Dash’s rapidly growing financial services business and we are working on expanding our suite of financial products and services to meet our customers’ diverse needs.”

    According to FIS’ 2021 Global Payment Report, BNPL is projected to be the fastest-growing payment method for Singapore, with transaction volume expected to increase from US$210 million in 2020 to US$1.3 billion by 2024. A study commissioned by Zip also showed that 56% of e-commerce users in Singapore have used or will consider using a BNPL service.

    Larry Diamond, CEO and co-founder of Zip said, “We are thrilled to be launching in Singapore through an exclusive partnership with Singtel Dash, one of the country’s most widely-used mobile apps for everyday financial and lifestyle needs. This partnership is consistent with Zip’s strategy to build a truly global BNPL business that supports regional and global partners operating in multiple markets. Our move into Singapore is an opportunity for us to tap into the country’s growing BNPL market and expand our presence in the Southeast Asian region following our strategic investment in BNPL provider TendoPay in the Philippines.”

  • Australia’s Zip looks to drive deeper in Asia, may consider US listing

    Australia’s Zip looks to drive deeper in Asia, may consider US listing

    Australia’s second-biggest buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Zip Co Ltd is exploring a bigger push into Asia and a potential U.S. listing, the company told Reuters on Tuesday.

    After gaining a toehold in Southeast Asia last month through a stake in Philippine firm TendoPay, Zip Chief Executive Larry Diamond said the company is now “actively looking at Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and India”.

    Zip’s big focus remains the United States, the biggest market in BNPL space where its unit Quadpay is driving the growth.

    As their home turf matures and race heats up in a sector where customers pay in installments without any interest for their online purchases, Zip and its Australia-listed rivals Afterpay and Sezzle are rushing to tap new growth markets and add investors.

    “The consideration to list on the Nasdaq or have some form of dual listing makes sense and ticks quite a few boxes,” a Zip spokesperson said. However, the idea is “only at a very early stage” and there are “no hard or firm plans”.

    Rivals Afterpay and Sezzle too have been keen on a U.S. debut. Swedish rival and Europe’s most valuable startup Klarna, which has also expanded beyond the continent, is also rumored to be eyeing the US equity market.

    The rapid growth of these loss-making companies in a largely unregulated market has also attracted traditional financial firms, with PayPal Holdings launching its BNPL service last year and Australia’s largest bank set to enter this summer.

    While the business is an attractive alternative to credit cards, concerns have been raised by consumer protection groups and some investors over the lack of regulation with many BNPLs opting for “soft” credit checks.

    BNPLs in Australia, where adoption is high, are not bound by consumer lending laws since they do not charge interest in most cases. Britain is currently forming a framework around BNPL.

    Zip’s plan to expand in Asia follows its decision on Monday to take full ownership of a BNPL firm each in Europe and the Middle East.

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  • Zip gains retailers as buy now pay later comes under attack

    Zip gains retailers as buy now pay later comes under attack

    Buy now, pay later operator Zip has seen a string of new retailers join its list of partners, bringing representatives across Australia fashion, automotive and food into the fold.

    Among the new retailers is the Just Group (which includes Peter Alexander, Smiggle, Jay Jays, Just Jeans, Dotti, Jacqui E and Portmans), Hanes Australasia (including Bonds and Sheridan), Lorna Jane, General Pants, Grill’d, Schnitz, and Carsales.

    “Consumers want to own the way they pay. In turn, retailers want to offer payment choice to answer this demand, and because they recognise it drives sales. It’s a win-win,” Fran Ereira, general manager of sales and solution delivery at Zip, said.

    But the already competitive buy now, pay later sector is set to become even more so, with the entrance of US provider, Splitit, in the Australian market – through a partnership with Kogan – and the arrival of Visa in the instalment payment space.

    “Visa cardholders will have the option to divide their total purchase amount into smaller, equal payments over a defined time period on qualifying purchases, at the store and online or when travelling abroad,” Visa global head of issuer and consumer solutions Sam Shrauger said in a statement last week.

    The announcement sent shares in Afterpay down 15 per cent – though they have since recovered.

    Visa’s offer differs from existing buy now, pay later providers in that it allows issuers to leverage a customer’s existing payment account, rather than asking them to download an app or submit to a credit check.

    “We expect instalments to become a foundational method of payment at checkout for both domestic and cross-border commerce payment transactions,” Shrauger said.

    But the growing popularity of buy now, pay later could be its undoing. A recent report in The Australiansuggests that buy now, pay later providers could soon lose one of the key advantages they have over credit card providers.

    While companies like Afterpay and Zip charge retailers a fee to offer their service, they prohibit retailers from passing the surcharge on to customers. But the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payments System Board has taken note of this practice, and is discussing “the growth in this segment of the payments market and the implications of these services for consumers and merchants,” according to a statement it released in November.

    Should this restriction be changed, retailers could choose to add a surcharge to goods purchased through buy now, pay later apps, potentially changing how attractive such offers are to consumers.

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