BNPL player Laybuy partners with Mastercard

Image source: Laybuy

A recent entrant to Australia's increasingly competitive buy now, pay later market has announced a partnership with Mastercard.

Laybuy, which launched in Australia in September 2019, has inked a deal with the global payments giant to enable its customers to use Laybuy in any store that accepts Mastercard's contactless payment technology. 

According to Laybuy, it has partnered with Mastercard's 'Fintech Express program', where a digital debit Mastercard will integrate with the existing Laybuy app for the majority of mobile devices on both iOS and Android. 

Laybuy co-founder and managing director Gary Rohloff said the partnership between Laybuy and Mastercard will support its growth globally. 

"For the first time, it enables our customers to pay using their Laybuy account at any retailer accepting Mastercard’s contactless technology," Mr Rohloff said. 

"This product development suits the highly engaged, technologically driven millennial customers seeking alternatives to traditional interest-bearing credit cards.

"It is beneficial for merchants as the contactless solution speeds up integration and in-store processing times significantly. It’s a win-win for merchants and customers.”

At launch, Laybuy had only 1,200 merchants signed up - a relatively small amount compared to giants like Afterpay, which has over 32,000.

But this partnership should significantly increase the numbers of merchants customers can use Laybuy in. 

“This partnership provides us with access to most retailers in Australia: consumers will be able to use a Laybuy debit card to purchase at any Mastercard retailer offering contactless payments," Mr Rohloff told Savings.com.au. 

"As you can imagine, this is a massive opportunity for Laybuy and we are excited to see this come to fruition.”

Mastercard also partnered with another BNPL debutante (Latitude Pay) in December 2019, but Laybuy is the first BNPL platform in Australasia to partner with Fintech Express. 

Rich Wormald, Mastercard Division President, Australasia, said Mastercard was delighted to be a part of Laybuy's growth story. 

“Laybuy is a great example of a high growth fintech platform that is meeting an unmet need in the market by offering consumers a more flexible, interest-free alternative payment option," he said. 

Laybuy vs BNPL competitors 

2019 was a strong year for the buy now, pay later space, with several new platforms entering the market. 

Latitude Pay, Bundll and Humm all launched last year, while January 2020 saw the Commonwealth Bank-backed Klarna debut as well. 

The table below highlights the differences between the BNPL services in terms of fees, interest and credit availability. 

Provider	Fees	Charges interest?	Credit range
Afterpay	$10 late fee Further $7 per missed payment	No	$500-$1,500
Zip Pay	$5 late fee $6 monthly account fee (waived if carrying no balance)	No	<$1,000
Zip Money	$5 late fee $6 monthly account fee (waived if carrying no balance)	0% for the first three months	$1,000-$30,000
humm	$6 late fee $8 monthly fee (not on the smallest plan) $35-90 establishment fee (on the biggest plan)	No	<$2,000 (small payments) <$30,000 (big payments)
Openpay	Late fee depends on situation $2.50-$3.95 processing fee $9.50 default fee	No	Up to $17,500
Bundll	$5 to 'snooze' payments	No	Up to $3,000
Laybuy	$10 missed payment fee	No	$120 - $1,200
Klarna	None	No	<$1,000
Latitude Pay	Capped at 10 for purchases up to $50  Capped at $50 (5 x $10)	No	$250 - $1,500

Correction: The late fees previously listed for Klarna are for international markets only. 

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