Tencent Holdings Limited has announced it becoming a substantial shareholder of Afterpay. Tencent is a Chinese technology firm and Afterpay is a buy now, pay later firm (BNPL). According to a published report, Tencent has purchased a 5% stake in Afterpay which valued at approximately Australian $390 million.
Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar, the co-founders of Afterpay made a statement that said they feel privileged to have Tencent as their substantial shareholder. They believe that it is a huge reward that their business was able to attract a high-caliber strategic investor. They further stated that this scenario was a testament to their team and the power of their differentiated business model.Investments
James Mitchell, the Chief Strategy Officer of Tencent stated that the company is pleased to be investing in Afterpay. He revealed that Tencent operates the rapidly growing platform of FinTech besides the leading digital payment service inside China. The company is also an active investor in pioneering Fintech firms that provide them unique specific insights into the emerging new Fintech services and products, outside China.
The Q3 reports of Afterpay showed that the company’s buy now pay later payment method online continues to attract customers. The number of American customers of Afterpay increased up to 4.4 million. This model of BNPL by the company allows customers to pay in installments that are interest-free.
With 90% of the gross merchandise volume (GMV) of the company originating from its existing customers signified the quality of its customer base and stickiness of the same across the world.
Afterpay stated that the company has maintained a strong position even through the difficult times of COVID-19 outbreak across the globe.
It is a truly significant event for Afterpay as well as Tencent. To know more about such news and updates from the world of Fintech, follow the Fintechbuzz. Fintechbuzz gives you regular updates about the on-goings in the fintech industry.
Chandrima Samanta, Content-Editor, FintecBuzz
Chandrima is a Content management executive with a flair for creating high quality content irrespective of genre. She believes in crafting stories irrespective of genre and bringing them to a creative form. Prior to working for Hrtech Cube she was a Business Analyst with Capgemini.
