zipMoney partners with Shopify to roll out buy now, pay later solution to global merchants

ASX-listed Sydney fintech zipMoney has announced a strategic partnership with global ecommerce tool Shopify, which will see the startup’s digital wallet solution rolled out to Shopify’s network of merchants.

zipMoney had been working with Shopify prior to the partnership, integrating its ‘zipPay’ digital wallet into hundreds of Australian Shopify-powered stores to give shoppers the option to buy now, pay later at the online checkout. Solidifying the relationship, the new partnership will help accelerate the inclusion of zipPay as an option for Shopify’s global clients.

In the longer term, the business said it will look to flesh out the partnership with Shopify and co-build a tighter knit native integration for the platform, which will provide more insights to merchants and further zipMoney’s ability to serve Shopify’s 377,000 large merchant base.

Expanding its ‘buy now, pay later’ solution to more online customers has been a strong focus for zipMoney in the last year, with the business having formed partnerships with Australian online payment gateway eWAY in March to enable zipPay as an option for Australian shoppers.

The company also partnered with Australian domain hosting provider Crazy Domains, following its acquisition last year of fintech startup Pocketbook for $7.5 million to tap into consumer financial services.

Looking to the new partnership, zipMoney’s cofounder and CEO Larry Diamond said he’s excited to work beside Shopify, adding that it would help fulfil the business’s aim of providing an interest-free loan option for shoppers at the checkout.

“Our partnership with Shopify provides enormous value to both retailers and consumers alike providing payment flexibility online and instore. Our aim is for Zip to be everywhere people shop, providing consumers with interest-free flexibility at the checkout,” he said.

Diamond and cofounder Peter Gray created zipMoney in 2013, looking to provide a way for online customers to access interest-free loans for their online purchases.

The platform integrates into an online retailer’s checkout and can be selected as an alternative payment option, giving customers up to 12 months to repay their debt. Having listed on the ASX in 2015, the business reported generating $11.2 million in revenue in the financial year to date, with transactions on the platform increasing by 66 percent in the March quarter to reach a transaction volume of $61 million, up 22 percent on the second quarter.

Speaking about the announcement, Shopify’s General Manager for Payments, Paco Suro, said the company is looking forward to working beside the Australian fintech, which looks to grow alongside the rise in alternative payments.

“We have seen the tremendous take up of alternative payments at the checkout as millennials and other customer segments seek better ways to pay. A partnership like this, provides enormous value to our merchants and their end consumers,” said Suro.

The partnership for zipMoney comes as local competitor Afterpay also inks deals with various payment providers and retailers.

Having last year partnered with Topshop to provide customers in its physical stores with access to Afterpay, the startup earlier this year partnered with Tyro to see its buy now, pay later solution rolled out to over 17,000 retailers using Tyro’s payment terminals.

Image: Larry Diamond. Source: Supplied.