Recharge.com has announced the launch of its services in Australia amidst regulatory changes in the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and the gift card sectors.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has shown that one in five customers missed BNPL payments in 2018-2019. To introduce more oversight around the sector, Australia’s central bank announced stricter regulation in October 2021, meaning that firms like Afterpay would no longer be able to stop merchants from passing on surcharges for their services.
Alongside these measures is a rising interest in the Pay Now Buy Later (PNBL) sector, driven by branded payments and gift cards that can be purchased upfront and used at a later date. The adoption of gift cards spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, with major employers incentivising staff through providing such cards that employees could use for shopping, entertainment and call credit.
The trend bodes well for Recharge.com, a one-stop-shop marketplace of various categories of branded payments, including call credit, data bundles, shopping, entertainment, gaming, and prepaid money.
One of Recharge.com’s competitive advantages is that unlike local websites and other global brands operating in the market, the fintech firm is offering a well thought out, seamless, next-level user experience that takes in local preferences and requirements through its platform’s design and functionalities.
Günther Vogelpoel, CEO of Recharge.com, said: “We are thrilled to be expanding into Australia and to offer consumers safe and smart ways to access a wide variety of services and experiences. The pandemic has increased the human need for connection, often through entertainment and gaming, and we are proud to be helping consumers to access the things that matter to them while remaining secure online and within household budgets.”
