The pioneer of Australia’s buy-now-pay-later sector has reported a big uptake in adoption since Flexigroup (ASX: FXL) consolidated its BNPL businesses with retail-focused brand humm delivering a 315% rise in transaction volumes through the June quarter. 

As the key differentiator against its competitors, humm allows customers to make interest-free purchases of up to $30,000. This has resonated with large cart-size retailers Temple & Webster, Amart Furniture, Bally and Snooze which have recently joined the humm platform. Other popular retailers to join humm recently include RedBalloon, Cotton On and PETStock.

“The continued growth in new retailers joining the humm platform, particularly in the health and home categories, shows that our differentiated product offering is compelling to merchants,” said Flexigroup CEO, Rebecca James. 

“The work we’ve undertaken to simplify and speed up merchant integration, with online retailers now up and humming in 48 hours, is driving our continued business performance. 

“With a growing and well diversified merchant base across multiple verticals and a growing awareness of humm in the market, we are delighted to see our strategy of offering solutions for big and small purchases continuing to deliver. 

Much of the growth in humm’s transaction trajectory has come from the health and home improvements sectors which have seen strong demand through COVID-19 with many Australians undergoing lockdown isolation. This has been further compounded by a distinct rise in online shopping over the same period where consumers are seeking flexible payment alternatives to cash. 

Alongside their 315% Quarter-on-Quarter growth in transactions, humm’s merchant partners are up 54% on the corresponding FY19 quarter, largely thanks to their 48 hour integration which does not require physical point-of-sale terminals.

Adding to humm’s payment flexibility, Flexigroup has also added BPAY as a repayment option on interest-free installments to pay off purchases from their 56,000 retail partners. 

“As consumers continue to adopt buy now pay later into their everyday spend, we are excited to announce humm’s new BPAY feature that will help Australians manage their finances during a time when budgeting and flexible repayments are increasingly in demand,” said James. 

 

Flexigroup was identified by Emerald Financial last month as one of the ‘Cashless Economy’ stocks to watch. Their full Analyst research report can be accessed here.