Mastercard partners with FinTech service, Laybuy in bid to gain more customers and increase their user base. The New Zealand buy-now-pay-later service provider, Laybuy, announced they’ve entered a partnership with Mastercard.
This partnership will enable Laybuy customers to pay using contactless in any retail store that accepts Mastercard’s contactless technology. Laybuy will also issue a digital debit Mastercard that will be linked to their mobile application.
Laybuy was founded in early 2019 by father and son Gary and Alex Rohloff in London, the U.K. It allows consumers to make purchases online or in-store, then make payments over the course of six weeks on an interest-free basis.
Gary Rohloff said the partnership would help support Laybuy’s growth globally and will also be great for Mastercards merchants.
Rich Wormald, division president, Australasia, Mastercard said Laybuy was an example of a high-growth fintech platform that was meeting a need in the market by offering more flexible payment options.
Gary Rohloff commented: “For the first time, it enables our customers to pay using their Laybuy account at any retailer accepting Mastercard’s contactless technology.
“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.”
Laybuy has come under criticism since they opened up business for the fees they apply to consumers if they miss a scheduled payment.
Although the business model helps people buy things that they might not have the available cash for at the time, it also opens them up to debt that could get out of control quickly.
Either way, we’re interested to see how this partnership plays out and what it could mean for both Mastercard and Laybuy going forward into 2020.
