Shares in buy now pay later group, Afterpay hit an all-time high of $105.80 yesterday after it announced a new partnership with Westpac.
The deal will see Westpac granting Afterpay customers a savings account that can be used as an ordinary savings account but will also be mined for behavioural data.
The news saw the shares crack the $100 level for the first time, climb to the new all-time high before easing back but still finish the session up 4.5% at $101.94.
“Linking the new services to a user’s existing Afterpay account will deliver further insight into how customers prefer to manage their finances, what their savings goals are, and how responsible spending behaviour can be further encouraged and rewarded,’’ Afterpay’s market announcement said.
Afterpay will be the default buy-now-pay-later provider for Westpac’s digital bank-as-a-service. After pay says that will reduce the need for it to “develop traditional banking or credit products”.
The new product will be available in the second (June) quarter of 2021.
It will see a Westpac bank account wrapped into an Afterpay account.
“The collaboration accelerates Afterpay’s ability to bring these additional customer offerings to market in that we can leverage established banking infrastructure and regulatory foundations to develop and deliver new services and more positive outcomes for customers,’’ Afterpay’s executive vice president of new platforms, Lee Hatton, said in the statement.
The deal will need the approval of regulators and contains some privacy concerns as customers will have to agree to give up details of their spending and purchases to a third party.
