In a retail industry worth over $300 billion, cash is in decline, credit cards are stagnant whilst debit cards and digital wallets are on the rise. zipMoney (ASX: ZML) is leading the charge with consumers (particularly millennials) by disrupting the high interest, inflexible and clunky credit card in favour of interest-free payments.
The disruptive payments and consumer finance company reported record revenue of $4.6 million for the March 2017 quarter and over $11 million YTD. zipMoney’s core business is built on its 100%-owned, cloud-based payments platform which provides consumers with a digital wallet, supporting seamless transactions across a large and growing retail network.
Consumers have the benefit of paying back the purchase, interest-free, over a period of time.
To date, this streamlined, innovative technology has processed well over $200 million on its digital platform, $60 million of which was transacted during the most recent quarter alone.
ZIP Co-Founders, Peter Gray and Larry Diamond
Larry Diamond, Co-Founder and CEO, said: “we continue to see significant growth in transaction volume, customers and merchant numbers, which is testament to the very large market opportunity ahead of ourselves and the hard work of the entire Zip team.”
Presently zipMoney has over 3,000 retailers – a dramatic rise of 50% in one of its busiest quarters to date. This has been supported by ongoing channel partnerships struck across key ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Retail Directions.
Big name retailers offering zipMoney solutions include Catch of the Day, Brands Exclusive, Thermomix, Luxury Escapes, Michael Hill, OZ Design, 99 Bikes and Forever New. The Company also retains a strong focus on small businesses, believing that ultimately Zip should be available at every checkout.
Diamond says “zipMoney remains focused on industry leadership across a diverse range of sectors, including consumer electronics, fashion & accessories, sports & outdoors, health services and travel. The product’s flexibility underpins the company’s growing appeal, driving uptake by merchants and customers alike. zipMoney’s recent eWAY and Shopify partnership announcements, mark a milestone in a strategy to establish zipMoney as a major player in the omni-channel payments industry.”
The company is experiencing explosive growth, with over 200,000 customers on the platform, adding more than 1,000 each day.
Customer receivables increased to $115m, representing 31% growth for the quarter.
Peter Gray, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, said: “zipMoney prides itself on building ethical products. We forge enduring relationships with our customers by providing transparent and flexible payment and credit solutions.”
Gray highlights the Company’s transformative partnership with a ‘Big 4’ Australian bank supporting +$200 million in financing: “This partnership demonstrates our maturing loan portfolio and validates our proprietary credit and fraud decision technology. Once live, this facility will significantly reduce our costs and accelerate our path to breakeven.”
zipMoney’s continued investment in data science and machine learning
capabilities appears to be producing results: the arrears rate was 1.8% and bad debts were at 1.2%, both well below industry standards.
“Our loan book performance remains in line with management expectations. Our low rate of bad debts and arrears demonstrates the strength of our proprietary credit and fraud decision technology.”
“We leverage a wide range of data sources, including traditional markers such as identification and credit checks, as well as, alternative data including social, behavioural and bank transactional data – significantly more data sets than a traditional bank,” Gray said.
With 88% of all mobile payments now handled by WeChat Pay and AliPay in China, can we expect to see Zip alongside Apple Pay and Android Pay delivering seamless payments online and in the physical world here in Australia?