Australian “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services provider Afterpay has forged a partnership with Westpac Group to offer savings accounts to its Australian customers.
Afterpay is the first partner on Westpac’s new digital banking platform, which was announced in November last year.
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The lender’s new digital bank-as-a-service (dbaaS) platform leverages cloud-native technology from 10x Future Technologies.
This enables Westpac to offer innovative banking solutions to its Australian customers.
By partnering with Afterpay, Westpac will expand its footprint into the fintech space and target younger customers.
Westpac CEO Peter King said: “Fintech innovation is changing banking in important ways and our new digital banking platform is part of our long-term strategy to support this trend and better respond to changing customer needs.
“The platform allows us to combine our banking experience with the innovation of our partners to support new customer experiences.”
Under the agreement, Afterpay will be able to provide its 3.3 million customers in the country with access to Westpac transaction and savings account.
The company will also offer other cashflow management tools to its customers. All these services will be available from the second quarter of 2021.
Afterpay CEO Anthony Eisen said: “Together with the power of our retail platform, the latest banking technology from 10x, and the support of Westpac, we will begin by offering cashflow management in a simple way.
“Afterpay is in a unique position to extend and deepen the relationship with our customers and help them to manage their money more seamlessly through savings and budgeting tools.
“For Afterpay, this is clearly just the beginning as we explore this opportunity globally.”
Last week, Afterpay has made its in-store BNPL service available at major retailers across the US.
