Zip Co (ASX: Z1P) is nipping at the heels of Australian BNPL leader Afterpay (ASX: APT), based on today’s announcement of their Q3 results. Despite the pandemic, Zip has managed to maintain momentum and deliver strong results across Australian, New Zealand, UK and US markets bolstering itself as one of the fastest growing BNPL leaders.

Q3 saw a record 12.4 million transactions (195% increase YoY) made on the platform which delivered quarterly transaction volume of $1.6 billion (up 114% YoY) and revenue of $114.4 million (up 80% YoY). The number of merchants on the platform has increased to 45.3k, a significant surge of 81% compared to last year.

Amongst these are a lineup of major retailers including Microsoft, Boohoo, JD Sports, JB HiFi, The Good Guys, L’Occitane, Boardriders and Adore Beauty.

An additional 1.6 million new app downloads globally bring the total amount of downloads to 7.6 million. In Australia alone there have been 230k new accounts registered.

Net bad debts for Australian receivables have reduced to 1.78% from 1.93%. Hardship requests and arrears are back to historically low levels, further affirming the Company’s ability to effectively manage risk.

Zip was trading at $3.80 before the pandemic and is currently trading at $9.10.

There is however, no sign of slowing down with this morning’s announcement detailing the Company’s plans and actions to date to branch into new global markets. During Q3 they’ve begun a soft launch into Canada and agreed on terms for investment into South East Asia through leading Philippines BNPL company, TendoPay.

The Company has also invested in Twisto, a BNPL player in Eastern Europe. BNPL is clearly a global phenomenon that Zip is poised to cash in on.

Zip is proving that their product can keep up with the likes of Afterpay by capitalising on the aversion to traditional credit cards and an affinity for mobile first operational systems. The Company’s Managing Director and CEO Larry Diamond is optimistic that Zip will “become the first payment choice everywhere, every day”.

With share prices more than doubling over the last 18 months, record transaction volumes, revenue and customer growth, this could be a very real possibility in the near future.