High-end Afterpay rival takes its fight international

Afterpay Touch will face increased competition across the Tasman as its up-market buy now, pay later (BNPL) rival Payright sets up shop in New Zealand.
The competitor to the high performing WAAAX stock targets a different customer segment to that of Afterpay and other BNPL schemes like Zip and Humm, aiming for those with more expensive tastes.

Payright founders Myles and Piers Redward have expanded their business to New Zealand, yet are coy about the future for the company beyond this development.
Payright, which is associated with high-end services like professional photography or home renovations, serves customers with a $20,000 spending limit.
Its founders – brothers Myles Redward and Piers Redward – believe this high-end focus will ultimately give them an edge over other BNPL operators.
“More retail-focused BNPL players see an average transaction size of between $100 and $200,” Myles Redward said. “For us … the average transaction size is closer to $2500.

“It does lend itself to a different type of purchase and purchaser than you would typically work with at the other providers,” Piers Redward added.
To this end, the demographics of Payright users are also distinct from the Millennial market traditionally associated with the sector.

More than two-thirds of Payright’s users are over 35 years old. By comparison, Afterpay’s average customer is aged 33.
“I guess for that reason we’re finding that our product, rather than competing with others … sits well alongside and, indeed, compliments existing BNPL schemes,” Myles Redward said.

NZ demand

The brothers have now turned their attention to New Zealand after building a business focused on Australia with a $30 million fundraising earlier this year.
It is yet another departure from the norm as other BNPL providers storm into the US market. However, the brothers said an outpost in New Zealand makes the most sense for their business.

“It’s really off the back of demand from both our existing and prospective merchants here in Australia that have operations in New Zealand,” Myles Redward said.
“They were pushing us quite hard to integrate Payright into their New Zealand operations … now that we’re over there we see that demand momentum continue.”
The pair says they have seen a stable uptake of Payright in New Zealand-based merchants since they launched in the country in late October.

“The focus for us at the moment is to continue to grow and scale to find other merchants and get them up and transacting,” Piers Redward said. “A lot of the other BNPL players are listed … it’s hard to ignore the valuations that some of the other players have seen in a listed context.

“But the focus at the moment is very much on growing and scaling the business here and in New Zealand.”