- BNPL ASX companies valued at AUD$50BN.
- Afterpay ASX200?s best-performing stock in 2020.
- Australian code of conduct begins March 1.
The buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector?s status as a pandemic winner has been reinforced with data showing the sector?s stratospheric growth over the past year as regulators begin to undertake action to mitigate the growth of BNPL customers acquiring unaffordable debt.
The combined value of 13 ASX-listed BNPL companies is worth more than AUD$50 billion following triple-digit share price growth for the likes of Afterpay, Zip Co and Sezzle.
After initially falling sharply, the BNPL sector quickly rebounded in March 2020 as lockdowns and travel restrictions boosted local domestic economic activity.
Afterpay topped the ASX200 in 2020 as the best performing stock, surging 1680% from AUD$8.90/share on March 23 last year to a record AUD$158.47/share on Feb. 10.
Zip Co has surged 1038% from a low of AUD$1.23/share on March 23 to a high of AUD$13.92/share on Feb. 16, while Sezzle has provided investors with a 2815% gain from AUD$0.40/share on March 23 to AUD$11.63 on Feb. 15.
In June 2020, BNPL transactions totalled 4.8 million - a growth of 43% from June 2019.
Fueling the growth, analysts say, is a trend away from credit cards along with online buying and a preference for smaller payments over time.
However, it?s also causing financial distress, with an Australian Securities and Investment Commission report revealing one in five customers are failing to make repayments.
A new code of conduct, to come into force on March 1, aims to curtail the level of unaffordable debt, including credit checks for purchases over specific amounts as well as capped late fees.