Louie Douvis
But Afterpay, now part of Block, has resisted additional regulation since it was founded eight years ago because more thorough checking of new customers could slow down its ability to onboard users.The Treasury consultation paper, which has been prepared for release in the coming weeks, will seek industry feedback on three regulatory options by the end of the year,understands, with the new regime likely to be finalised during the first half of the 2023 calendar year.
The third option would be creating a specific, new regulatory regime for buy now, pay later providers, according to sources familiar with Treasury’s thinking. This may require Afterpay to look at a prospective customer’s credit file, held by a credit bureau, to determine their creditworthiness via a credit score. Potentially, it may have to assess more detailed customer data such as their employment, or income and expenses.in response to a 2019 Senate committee’s recommendations
Zip Co, which offers a slightly different product to Afterpay and lets customers pay a fee to push a bill back to the next month, already conducts credit checks, so is less likely to be affected by any new regime.Brighte, which provides interest-free loans for solar panels