BNPL Players' Changed Strategy with Retailers: Lens on FlexiGroup

Summary

• Buy now Pay Later companies are witnessing a surge in the number of new customers as well as merchants that are using their platform for managing payments.
• FlexiGroup Limited has onboarded prominent retailers in 4Q20, including Amart Furniture, Snooze, Temple & Webster and Bally.
• The Company managed to attract big retailers with its flexible interest-free spending, enabling of large transactions, and rapid merchant integration process.
• During 4Q20, FXL witnessed continuous strong online growth with e-commerce volume up 315% and total transactions up 447% as compared to 4Q19.
• FXL also launched BPAY feature in 4Q20, that empowers customers to pay for bills in manageable interest-free instalments.

The current scenario, dominated by COVID-19, has presented a significant upside for fintech companies due to the change in consumer preferences. Consumers have significantly shifted to online buying, which is supported by the ecosystem of e-payments due to the restrictions on social movements.

Citing several opportunities arising from the ecosystem of digital payments to the consumers, retailers are now collaborating with these fintech companies to allow consumers to pay through the ease and take advantage of credit services offered by the fintechs while making purchases.

Fintech companies are witnessing a surge in the number of transactions and consumer traffic, as a result of which, retailers are seeking to collaborate with these payment companies to serve their customers better. Let us look at one fintech player that has added several big retail partners to its already big list, FlexiGroup Limited

FXL Group Onboards a Record Number of Merchants

A diversified full-service payments company, FlexiGroup Limited (ASX:FXL) onboarded a record number of merchants to both instore and online by June 2020 with new online merchants growing by 54% in 4Q20 as compared to 4Q19.

FlexiGroup provides leading offerings in buy now pay later, revolving credit and SME finance by a serving a broad base of millennial spenders, all the way through to young families and small as well as medium businesses.

The services of FXL are not limited to category-specific features. They include individually customisable payment options that enable every consumer to make independent decisions, set their plan and have total control of their buying.

Moreover, FXL believes that the joining of several new prominent retail partners including Temple & Webster, Amart Furniture, and luxury brand Bally with its humm platform indicates that its exclusive proposition of interest-free spending from $1-$30k continues to resonate.

FXL’s partnership with Veterinary Growth Partners is expected to offer around 170 independent Veterinary Hospitals access to humm platform. Moreover, this partnership, along with online pet retailers PETStock and PetPost, ensures that pet owners will have a complete solution with humm.

FXL’s total interest-free retail partners across Australia and New Zealand stood at 56,000 as at 4Q20 because of the continued momentum across humm’s target verticals of health and home improvement, which are witnessing robust demand in the present environment.

Notably, online volume increased 315% in 4Q20 with total online transactions up by 447% as compared to 4Q19, with prudent credit controls continuing to be maintained and as a result of fresh merchant additions, as well as a structural move towards online sales.

A range of bills that offer BPAY can now be paid through humm platform, enabling customers to pay for services like electricity, gas, telecommunications, and school fees, and repay them in budget-friendly, interest-free instalments at these billers. Moreover, bill payment is not limited to these services only.

The persistent growth in new retailers joining the humm platform, especially in the health and home categories, reflects upon the differentiated nature of the product offering that is appealing and compelling to merchants.

Importantly, FXL believes that humm is continuing to entice a broader range of merchants with the ability to facilitate larger transactions than other buy now pay later providers, especially merchants who haven’t offered buy now pay later solutions to their customers earlier.

FXL’s continued business performance is underpinned by the simplified and paced up merchant integration, with online retailers now up and humming in 48 hours.

FXL’s strategy of offering solutions for big and small purchases has continued to deliver, as evident from the growing and well-diversified merchant base across multiple verticals and a growing awareness of humm in the market.

More importantly, consumers are now opting for buy now pay later services into their everyday spending, paving the way for a prospective road ahead for the fintech companies. Off late, FXL has introduced humm’s new BPAY feature that is expected to assist Australians in managing their finances during a time when demand for budgeting and flexible repayments is escalating significantly.

FXL Surpasses Two Million Interest-Free Instalment Customers

Recently, FXL also surpassed a substantial milestone of two million interest-free instalment customers using its payment solutions, with over 380,000 new customers added in the last 11 months (until May 2020). The considerable growth in the number of customers places the Company as one of the largest instalment players in the combined Australian and New Zealand market by both customer numbers and volume.

Other than the continued expansion of humm, FXL believes that this growth is driven by its strategic partnership with Mastercard, which allows its interest-free instalment products and empowers customers to shop anywhere that accepts Mastercard.

Moreover, FXL’s firm leadership position in interest-free instalment transactions over $1,000 is well over the BNPL industry average and acts as a strong differentiator for the Company.

Bottomline

Overall, the current COVID-19-led scenario has presented multiple challenges as well as opportunities for businesses across diverse industries. The payment services companies are witnessing a significant change in the number of customers that are opting for digitally enabled payment services, which go beyond digital payment and offer several benefits to customers like interest-free credit purchases for everyday spending. Payment service providers are also witnessing a surge in the merchants being onboarded, most recently the retailers.