Zip preps UK expansion as boohoo joins its platform
Australian buy now, pay later venture, Zip, is set to ramp up its expansion in the UK.
Founder and CEO Larry Diamond has announced that Homebase, boohoo and The Fragrance Shop will be among the first retailers to join its UK platform, which enables customers to pay for products worth up to £1,000 in interest-free instalments.
“Our UK Zipsters are doing amazing work and there’s so much more to come. Here's to 2021!” he said in a LinkedIn post.
Zip will invest $15 million in the UK this year as it takes on the likes of Klarna and Afterpay in a crowded BNPL space. It is targeting 10 million British customers within three years.
“Fit for purpose regulation”
Diamond insists that the company has no problem with the recent publication of The Woolard Review into the unsecured credit market.
As part of the review, interest free BNPL credit agreements will be regulated by the FCA, after rapidly increasing in popularity due in no small part to the coronavirus pandemic driving shoppers online.
By regulating the products, consumers will be able to seek recourse with the Financial Ombudsman Service, should they have a complaint.
“We’ve always pushed for fit for purpose regulation,” Diamond told the Financial Times. “Globally, customers are choosing to pay this way because it is a better and fairer digital alternative to the credit card, which has high interest rates.”
He added: “Responsibility is in the DNA of our organisation. We’ve done identity and credit checks since inception, unlike some of our peers. We definitely support lifting minimum standards across the industry.”
