Australia's Afterpay says some BNPL users told to close accounts, then sold credit cards

By Byron Kaye SYDNEY, June 10 (Reuters) - Some customers of Australia’s Afterpay have been asked to close buy-now-pay-later accounts to qualify for a mortgage and offered a credit card upon qualification, the BNPL provider said on Tuesday, underscoring fierce competition in the consumer finance sub-sectors. BNPL loans, on-the-spot interest-free short-term loans with minimal credit checks, exploded as an alternative for younger shoppers after the COVID-19 lockdowns and stimulus payments spurred an online shopping frenzy. Customers are incentivised to pay on time by the promise of maintaining or increasing their borrowing limit. In a survey of 1,000 of its customers, Afterpay said more than 10% reported being offered a credit card by the same bank or mortgage broker that told them to close their BNPL account to qualify for a loan, without specifying which banks or brokers. Owned by U.S. tech billionaire Jack Dorsey’s Block (XYZ.N) , Afterpay leads Australia’s BNPL market with more than 3.5 million active monthly users, half the country’s total BNPL accounts, according to government figures. Lenders are required by law to make reasonable inquiries about an applicant’s finances but may not give financial advice. Spokespeople for Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the biggest lender, and No.3 lender National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) told Reuters that they did not tell applicants to close their BNPL accounts. A spokesperson for No.4 lender ANZ (ANZ.AX) said the bank assessed BNPL liabilities alongside a person’s other finances and “depending on the customer’s overall financial position, goals, and objectives, they may choose to restructure or close certain debts – such as BNPL accounts – to support their application”. TO RISK OR NOT TO RISK Afterpay claimed banks were capitalising on a perception of BNPL users as riskier than traditional borrowers to protect a declining lending category. Australian interest-accruing credit card debt is down 30% in half a decade as borrowers seek cheaper options. The company added that its survey found BNPL users had credit scores and on-time repayment records broadly in line with credit card users. The BNPL model has avoided regulation under Australian consumer credit laws so far as it doesn’t involve interest. However, “if it looks and acts like credit, then it should be regulated as such,” the Australian government had said last year. New legislation requiring BNPL firms to run credit checks on borrowers kicks in on Tuesday, which, Afterpay’s Head of Public Policy Michael Saadat hopes, would improve transparency around user creditworthiness. The main reason Afterpay customers close their accounts is because their lender or broker told them to, and “this should not be something that is driven by misperception of the regulatory requirements,” Saadat told Reuters in an interview. According to mortgage broker AFG, (AFG.AX) one in 10 Australian mortgages are arranged by brokers. Mark Hewitt, general manager of industry and partnerships at AFG, said the company does not distribute credit cards but responsible lending rules require it to “ensure adequate enquiry is made around an applicant’s ability to meet their financial commitments”.