Afterpay defers upfront payments for 'responsible' users

There will be no installments paid for the first two weeks of purchase, both online and in-store.

Customers will also be able to change up to six payment dates per calendar year on existing orders.

The program is only available to customers using a debit card who have paid their last 15 payments on time over the past six months.

These customers will then receive a notification inviting them to join Pulse.

Need somewhere to store cash and earn interest? The table below features introductory savings accounts with some of the highest interest rates on the market.

Time period

1 year

Deposit amount

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Bank	Savings Account	Base Interest Rate	Max Interest Rate	Total Interest Earned	Introductory Term	Minimum Amount	Maximum Amount	Linked Account Required	Minimum Monthly Deposit	Minimum Opening Deposit	Account Keeping Fee	ATM Access	Joint Application	Tags	Features	Link	Compare	Promoted Product	Disclosure
Revolut	Revolut Instant Access Savings Account ($0 - $50,000)	3.00% p.a.	6.25% p.a. Intro rate for 3 months then 3.00% p.a.	$769	3 months	$0	$49,999		$0	$0	$0				Intro rate for 3 months up to $50k, then 5.30% p.a. on paid Ultra plan up to $250k No deposit or withdrawal conditions. New to Revolut customers for a limited time. Open savings account within 1 month of joining. Total Interest Earned shown is for illustrative purposes and is based on monthly compounding. Actual Interest Earned will be higher from interest compounding daily instead of monthly.	Go to site	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure
Judo Bank	Judo Bank Personal Savings Account	0.05% p.a. Bonus rate of 5.30% Rate varies on savings amount.	5.35% p.a.	$1,097	–	$0	$249,999		$0	$0	$0				Government backed protection. $0 monthly account keeping fees. 100% Australian-based support.	Go to site	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure
Easy Street Financial Services	Easy Street Financial Services Flex Saver	5.05% p.a.	5.05% p.a.	$1,034	–	$0	$99,999,999		$0	$0	$0				No account keeping fees There’s no interest or fee penalties when you need to withdraw your money Keep track of your savings goals with alerts and our mobile app	Go to site	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure
ING	ING Savings Booster (balance up to $500k)	2.25% p.a. Bonus rate of 3.15% Rate varies on savings amount.	6.00% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 5.40% p.a.	$1,134	4 months	$0	$499,999		$0	$0	$0					Go to site	Compare		Disclosure
Rabobank	Rabobank High Interest Savings Account (<$250k)	4.00% p.a.	5.90% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 4.00% p.a.	$936	4 months	$0	$249,999		$0	$1	$0					Go to site	Compare		Disclosure

CEO of Afterpay Anthony Eisen hit out at credit cards, which he says have penalised increased spending, even if done so responsibly.

“Until today, loyalty programs across our industry have encouraged excessive spending - leaving no options for those shoppers who want to spend responsibly and avoid expensive fees and extended debt," he said.

Pulse was also launched in time for Christmas, according to Mr Eisen.

“We also recognise that the period leading up to Christmas is one of the most challenging for singles and families, so wanted to ensure we could provide as much payment flexibility for our most valuable customers, regardless of how much they spend," he said.

The news comes after the financial regulator found throughout the 2018-2019 financial year, 45% of all buy now, pay later (BNPL) transactions had incurred missed payment fees, generating more than $43 million in revenue for the platforms.