A Clear Impact: Clearpay Customers Saved Up To £28 Million In Fees By Not Using Credit Cards Drove £739 Million In Incremental Sales For UK Merchants

New Accenture report identifies economic impact of the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ platform for consumers and merchants

LONDON, January 17th 2022 – New research conducted by Accenture reveals that in 2021, Clearpay, a leader in Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payments known as Afterpay (ASX:APT) outside the UK and Europe, saved consumers up to £28 million in credit card fees and generated £1 billion in total revenue for its UK partner merchants in 2021, including £739 million in incremental sales as they fight back against COVID.

‘The Economic Impact of Clearpay in the UK’ report, released today, demonstrates the significant contribution made by BNPL providers across the UK, to consumers, businesses, and to the broader economy by supporting jobs and SMBs.

Helping Consumers Spend Responsibly

Clearpay provides purchasing flexibility to more than two million active users in the UK, offering substantial consumer benefit, including greater ability to manage spending and protection from revolving debt. The report revealed that:

• Consumers accrued £79 million in benefits from using Clearpay, equivalent to £37 per user(1) – such as the ability to pay in instalments, access a convenient alternative to traditional credit and budgeting support by, for example, being able to split the cost of a purchase over multiple paychecks. The Clearpay benefits most valued by customers include the ability to pay in instalments (66%), that it helps them with budgeting (63%) and that Clearpay enables them to time purchases better (62%).
• Consumers saved up to £28 million in credit card fees by using Clearpay instead of a credit card;
• 20% of Clearpay users have stopped using credit cards since signing up with Clearpay and another two thirds have reduced credit card usage.

Helping Merchants Generate Revenue

The report highlighted how Clearpay has become an important sales channel for its UK merchant partners:

• Clearpay generated £739 million in incremental sales for UK merchants in 2021 and delivered £403 million in net economic benefits;
• UK small-medium sized businesses (SMBs) enjoyed £124 million in new sales; SMBs stand to make big gains from BNPL with more than £4 in every £5 spent with SMBs through Clearpay being new revenue;
• One in every £4 spent on fashion e-commerce is paid for with BNPL. The report underscores Clearpay’s importance to UK fashion retailers – with fashion sales making up 8% of total fashion e-commerce in the UK.

Supporting Jobs in Retail

By supporting jobs across the UK, Clearpay is playing an important role in the UK Government’s focus to “level up” every part of the UK.

• Clearpay supports 9,550 jobs across every region of the UK;
• 60% of those jobs (5,690) were outside London and the South East, with 31% in Northern England;
• An additional 3,520 jobs were supported by the extra spending in the economy created by workers that have been directly and indirectly supported by Clearpay.

Accenture Managing Director, Andrew Charlton said: “After conducting this analysis of the economic benefits of Clearpay, it’s clear why the service has exploded in popularity around the world. The platform delivers a rare “win, win” – in which consumers are offered a better and more economical way to pay for things they want and need. This in turn drives incredible value to merchants who acquire young, engaged consumers who become repeat shoppers – ultimately making Clearpay an invaluable sales channel for these merchants.”

Clearpay offers consumers a wide network of nearly 100,000 global retailers, which allow customers to receive items immediately and pay over time, without revolving debt or paying interest. Merchants benefit from the company’s highly-engaged customer base, as the Clearpay Shop Directory generates an average of one million merchant referrals globally per day(2).

Five facts about Clearpay:

• Clearpay does not charge interest and is completely free for customers who pay on time;
• If a customer misses a payment their account is immediately made unavailable so that they cannot accrue more debt or fall into revolving debt;
• Clearpay does not report to credit agencies and will not impact a customer’s credit score;
• 98% of all FY21 purchases incurred no late fees;
• Almost one-third of customers make the majority of their repayments ahead of time.

Click here to find out more about Clearpay.

ENDS

Note to Editors:

The Accenture Report was commissioned by Clearpay in October 2021 and includes data based on 2,437 Clearpay users and 416 Clearpay merchants.

 

About Clearpay (Afterpay Limited)

Afterpay Limited (ASX: APT), known as Clearpay in the UK and Europe, is transforming the way we pay by allowing customers to receive products immediately and pay for their purchases over four instalments, always interest-free. The service is completely free for customers who pay on time – helping people spend responsibly without incurring interest, fees or extended debt. As of June 30, 2021, Afterpay is offered by nearly 100,000 of the world’s favourite retailers and is used by more than 16 million customers globally.

Afterpay is currently available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain where it is known as Clearpay. Afterpay is on a mission to power an economy in which everyone wins.

 

1 Consumer benefits are the economic benefits that consumers receive over and above price paid for a service. Here, consumer benefits of using Clearpay are measured through ‘consumer surplus’: the difference between the price a consumer is willing to accept to relinquish access and the price paid (assumed at 0). This benefit is accrued from many Clearpay features, including the ability to pay in instalments, access to a convenient alternative to credit, budgeting support and the Clearpay store directory.

2 Results announced in FY21