Significant changes are coming to Afterpay, the Australian BNPL firm. In a surprising turn of events, the company shut down its Money application. That also impacts the collaborative effort with Westpac, which will be terminated.
Afterpay Shakes Things Up
Many things will change for Afterpay in the coming months. Like other BNPL providers, the company has struggled to retain traction. Moreover, its management team decided to kill off the Money app. Surprising, as they only launched the service in 2021. It signifies the partnership between Afterpay and Westpac – signed in 2020 – and enabled the former to provide spending and savings accounts.
New customers can no longer sign up for the Money app, which will be retired on October 10, 2022. Moreover, the ongoing partnership between Afterpay and Westpac will come to an end. However, parent company Block will launch its Cash App in Australia shortly. The Money app would be a direct competitor to that service.
Afterpay Head of Money Lee Hatton adds:
“Our decision to move in this new direction is due to our exciting next chapter with Block, particularly as we think about Cash App opportunities here in Australia.”
Unfortunately, the news is a pretty big blow to Westpac and its banking-as-a-service platform. Afterpay was the highest-profile partner of that service. Having that partner terminate the agreement after less than two years is not a healthy sign and might make other potential partners rethink their decision.