Buy now, pay later giant Afterpay has announced the launch of its new banking-as-a-service product through which users can monitor their savings and transactions and manage their cash flow. Fintech Afterpay will launch its new product via the bank-as-a-service platform of financial services provider Westpac Banking Corporation later in 2021.
Afterpay is the first Australian financial technology company that has revolutionized how Aussies shop and now wishes to help its customer base manage their savings as well as transactions.
Afterpay’s banking-as-a-service platform
Lee Hatton, Afterpay’s Executive Vice President said that the $30 billion company is very excited about this new development. She added that while the fintech is not turning into a bank, it wants to create banking experiences that reflect the customer-centricity and philosophy that has made its core product so successful.
Younger Australians are also starting to assess the role of money in their lives and embrace flexibility as a “rational response” to economic uncertainty, said Hatton. This is inclusive of an increasing aversion towards debt and overt displays of wealth and valuing flexibility, transparency and hyper-personalization when it is about money management.
Afterpay believes that the banking-as-a-service opportunity will significantly improve customer experience and choice in addition to maintaining customer protections, and this is something the company is very excited about so watch this space, says Hatton.
The BNPL darling announced a partnership with Westpac in October last year that allows Afterpay to offer its 3.3 million users a way of avoiding getting stuck in debt and move closer towards their saving goals.
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Afterpay, AI and Open Banking
Lee Hatton has a background in artificial intelligence and strongly believes that AI can help facilitate the smooth transition to personalized banking services. The fintech is now going to explore how AI can be leveraged and integrated with Open Banking, which allows third-party institutions and banks to share information, to further offer better products and data.
Hatton adds that more data means hyper-customization of fintech solutions. In the future, consumers will demand that businesses understand them and their goals in detail, she said. Additionally, more data and diversified services will allow for greater and better financial inclusion of individuals and groups that can be marginalized by existing product and service offerings.
Afterpay Limited is a Melbourne-based fintech firm that operates in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. The company was founded by Anthony Nilsen and Nick Molnar in 2015. Afterpay got listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2018 and has raised $448.7 million till date.
SEE ALSO: Aussie BNPL Beforepay raises $9 million in pre-IPO funding round
Image Courtesy: istockphoto
