Afterpay’s no interest model saved Australians $127 million in consumer fees and interest in 2023 compared to credit cards, research reveals

More than half of customers also reported using Afterpay reduced stress of large expenses, as Afterpay delivered $5 billion in net benefits to 129,000 local merchants

DISTRIBUTED-WORK-MODEL/MELBOURNE, 5 June 2024 – Afterpay today released new research conducted by Mandala, which demonstrates the vital economic impact of Australia’s leading Buy Now Pay Later provider on its 3.5 million active customers and 129,000 merchants across the country. 

The independent report showed that in 2023, customers saved $127 million in consumer fees and interest when compared to credit cards while Afterpay merchants realised $5 billion in net benefits from sales and cost efficiencies.

“As Australians look to make their money go further, Afterpay offers a flexible and transparent tool to manage their spending and a much better alternative  than relying on high-interest credit cards,” said Katrina Konstas, EVP and country manager for Afterpay APAC. “This research shows that Afterpay is reducing the financial stress of Australians, millions of whom are voting with their feet by choosing a reliable, low-cost and easy to understand payment method like Afterpay.”

According to the report, Afterpay customers experienced the following as they looked to Afterpay to help manage their money in 2023: 

• Paid less than 0.6% of purchase value in late fees – this is significantly less relative to credit card purchases, where average costs are nearly 3 times higher at 1.5 per cent
• 61% said it’s their preferred consumer finance option
• 54% said it reduces the stress of large expenses
• 40% said it helps them avoid high-interest credit card debt
• More than 1 in 3 said they use their credit card less or have replaced their credit card with BNPL, and a further 22% don’t use a credit card at all

Afterpay has proven again to be major support for Australia’s retail sector, which has weathered low growth dampened consumer sentiment. 

From a merchant lens, Afterpay delivered:

• $5 billion in benefits to Afterpay merchants from increased sales and cost efficiencies
• 65% of merchants reported exposure to new customers
• 123,000 small and medium sized businesses have used the platform
• $13.4 billion in total sales generated on Afterpay channels

“Australians who use BNPL are significantly less likely to own credit cards, which represents a notable shift in consumer behaviour,” said Amit Singh, Managing Partner, Mandala. “The research indicates BNPL is being favoured by households because it enables large expenses to be spread across multiple paychecks without dipping into savings. This is a different model of household income management to what we have traditionally seen with credit cards” 

 A copy of the full Afterpay Economic Impact in Australia report, including additional information on Afterpay’s contribution to GDP, can be found here.

– ENDS –

Methodology

From December 2023 to March 2024, Mandala conducted in-depth surveys of Afterpay consumers and merchants to support quantifying Afterpay’s impact.

The surveys engaged with 1,000 Afterpay consumers and 500 Afterpay merchants. The survey results were combined with data from the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics and Afterpay to construct estimates of the benefits of Afterpay to Australian consumers, merchants and the economy. “Afterpay active consumers” are defined as having.

Consumer Survey

A bespoke consumer survey was designed for this report and administered to a sample

of the Australian population by Pureprofile in January 2024. This survey sampled 1,000 consumers who had used Afterpay in the last 12 months. The survey was then weighted to the population of Afterpay active customers based on internal data by age and sex. Case studies in this report were developed and drafted by Mandala in collaboration with Afterpay active customers.

Merchant Survey

Merchant insights were drawn from responses to a merchant survey designed for this report. The survey was administered by Pureprofile to a sample of the Australian population who were active Afterpay merchants in February 2024. The survey sampled 500 merchants whose responses were weighted to the population of Afterpay merchants using a proxy of Australian retailers by total turnover (including Afterpay and non-Afterpay) from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data on the retail industry. Case studies in this report were developed and drafted by Mandala in collaboration with Afterpay merchants.

About Afterpay

Afterpay is transforming the way we pay by allowing customers to buy products immediately and pay over time – enabling simple, transparent and responsible spending. We are on a mission to power an economy in which everyone wins. Afterpay is offered by thousands of the world’s favourite retailers and used by millions of active global customers. Afterpay is currently available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, where it is known as Clearpay. Afterpay is a wholly owned subsidiary of Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ).