Australia Buy Now Pay Later Business and Investment Opportunities

  Advanced technologies, together with increasing awareness of various alternative payment methods, have propelled the growth of the gift card industry in the last four to six quarters. High internet penetration and increase in smartphone usage have further boosted this market's growth in the United Kingdom. Consequently, the increasing market opportunity is attracting new-age financial companies to introduce innovative products to increase their market share. With the rising demand for cryptocurrencies, gift card companies in the United Kingdom have started offering crypto gift cards to target a larger consumer base. These companies are either integrating crypto to buy their products or engaging in various partnerships to target wider market space. For instance, the United Kingdom-based gift card company, GiftChill included buying online gift cards with cryptocurrency in November 2021. After registration on the company’s website, customers can place orders for gift cards and recei...

With buy now, pay later (BNPL) is emerging as a popular alternative method of payment over the last couple of years, fintech companies are capturing this space with various innovative product launches. They are using the non-conventional data points to extend their credit options to people who otherwise would not have accessed them, re-assuring their growth in the digital market.  In 2020, the use of BNPL products increased significantly in the United Kingdom. According to PayNXT360, the BNPL market in the United Kingdom recorded an annual growth of 61.1% in 2020. Looking at the lucrative market opportunity, fintech companies are expanding their lending product portfolio with new products such as virtual BNPL cards. In November 2021, Monzo, one of the leading digital banks in the United Kingdom introduced a virtual BNPL card for customers who want to access contactless payments using their Monzo Flex BNPL option. In September 2021, the company launched Monzo Flex, a BNPL product th...

  The prepaid card market in India has observed steady growth over the last four to six quarters. This growth in the Indian prepaid card market is due to the rising demand for mobile payments, vibrant e-commerce industry, higher adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), and a high number of unbanked and underbanked populations in the country. Many fintech companies are trying to explore the segment and reap benefits in an emerging country like India. Eroute Technologies, a card-based payment company in India has showcased its first product, OmniCard in July 2021. Omnichannel prepaid card is a prepaid card that will allow to spend via different shopping methods by phone, physical shop or online. The Noida-based company has received authorization from the Reserve Bank of India to issue and operate Prepaid Instruments in the country. The company targeted the young generation and brought this omnichannel prepaid card and a mobile app into the market. This w...

  The gift card market in Africa and Middle East region has recorded a steady growth during the past few years. Though, the growth of gift card market has been impacted, it has outperformed the overall gift industry. The socio-economic environment in Africa is expected to rebound which could have a positive impact on the gift card market. The Kenyan economy is expected to recover in 2021 with increase in real GDP by 6.9% YoY. While South Africa, Africa's second-largest economy recorded GDP expansion of 13.5% quarter-on-quarter in July-September 2020, recovering from the pandemic crash. The strong growth in the e-commerce sector primarily supported the overall gift card industry during 2020, a trend expected to continue over the forecast period. Increasing smartphone penetration and consumer’s inclination towards online shopping has positively impacted e-commerce sector. In South Africa, for instance, the growth in e-commerce market is one of the factors driving gift card m...

 As credit card penetration remains less than 15% in most of Latin American markets, BNPL lending has substantial growth prospects in the region. With the growing e-commerce market in the region, the BNPL service is also expected to grow. Cash vouchers which are most trusted digital payment mode in the region, sometimes allow consumers to pay in interest-free instalments which provide flexibility to consumers. For instance, in the region, around 45% of eCommerce payments are made in instalments which are usually interest free. Addi, a white-label BNPL startup based in Colombia, plans to expand to Brazil and Mexico by end of 2020. The start-up which was established in 2018 has risen US$31.3M in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Quona Capital. Addi direct sales force in Colombia mainly targets elective medicine, home improvement and fast fashion merchants. Also, the company has integrated with Vtex, an ecommerce platform, to allow merchants connected to Vtex offer installment...

  Sweden’s GDP expanded by 4.3% in Q3’20 after a slump in Q2’20 due to coronavirus outbreak. However, for full year 2020, the economy is expected to shrink impacting consumer confidence. The economy is likely to recover in 2021 which would have a positive impact on consumer spending and consequently the gift card market. Though growth of gift card market has been impacted in 2020 due to the COVID crisis, the market is set to grow as retail and corporate customer increase spending on gift cards over the forecast period. Due to COVID-19, there has been shift in demand from brick and mortar retail to e-commerce. The growth in e-commerce will be owing to digitally savvy shoppers which will have a positive impact on the gift card industry in the coming years. Moreover, in October 2020, Amazon extended its presence in Sweden with its new e-commerce site Amazon.se, which could further enhance the e-commerce market in the country. The growing demand from the millennials and Gen Z populatio...