Commonwealth Bank Launches Afterpay Competitor

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has today unveiled a new buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering which can be used anywhere debit and credit card payments are accepted.

Available to eligible CBA customers from mid-2021, the new service will directly link to CBA bank accounts with no ongoing fees and at no additional cost (above standard merchant fees) to businesses.

“Customer needs are evolving and this new BNPL offering is about giving customers more choice around how they choose to pay and when, depending on the option which suits them best,” said Angus Sullivan CBA’s group executive, retail banking services.

“As the leading digital bank in Australia, we believe we are best placed to offer our customers a prudent and responsible BNPL option based on the trends and insights sourced from real time transaction data over many years,” Mr Sullivan added.

The launch of CBA’s new BNPL product follows recent research by the RFi Group which showed 76 per cent of Australians who currently use a BNPL product would use a similar bank-offered service.

Late payment fees will be charged at $10 per instalment with caps in place to minimise the total amount of additional fees charged.

“We are excited to announce the first BNPL offered by a major bank which will give customers access to cash flow in a way that meets their changing preferences and expectations,” Mr Sullivan said.

Porsche car deliveries fell 10% in 2025 as demand was hit by a slowdown in luxury spending in China and as it ceased production of its 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman models through the year.

The German luxury sports-car maker said Friday that it delivered 279,449 cars in the year, down from 310,718 in 2024.

The company had a tumultuous year as it contended with a stuttering transition to electric vehicles and a tough Chinese market, while the Trump administration’s automotive tariffs presented a further headwind.

Deliveries in its largest sales region of North America were virtually flat at 86,229, but continued challenges in China meant deliveries in the country dropped 26% to 41,938 vehicles.

Automakers have faced intense competition in China, sparking a prolonged price war as rivals cut prices to win customers, while a lengthy property market slump and economic-growth concerns in the country has also led to buyers pulling back on luxury spending.

“Key reasons for the decline remain the challenging market conditions, particularly in the luxury segment, and the very intense competition in the Chinese market, especially for all-electric models,” the company said.

Other German brands including Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have all recently reported that the challenging Chinese market hit demand last year.

In Europe, Porsche deliveries fell 13% to 66,340 cars excluding its home market of Germany, while German deliveries dropped 16%.

The company cut guidance several times last year as it warned of hits from U.S. import tariffs, investments in new combustion engines and hybrid models amid the slow uptake of EVs, and the competitive situation in China.

Porsche also last year announced plans to scale back its EV ambitions and instead expand its lineup with more gas-powered and plug-in hybrid models than it had originally planned.

However, in its statement Friday, the company said it increased its share of electrified-vehicle deliveries in the year. Around 34% of vehicles delivered worldwide were electrified, an increase of 7.4 percentage points on year, with about 22% all-electric vehicles and 12% plug-in hybrids.

That leaves its global share of fully-electric vehicles at the upper end of its target range of 20% to 22% for 2025.

In Europe, for the first time in 2025, more electrified vehicles than purely combustion engine vehicles were delivered.

The Macan topped the delivery charts in the year, while the 911 reached a record high with 51,583 deliveries worldwide, it said.

Porsche said it is investing in its three-pronged powertrain strategy and will continue to respond to increasing demand for personalization requests from customers.

“We have a clear focus for 2026,” Sales and Marketing Chief Matthias Becker said. “We want to manage supply and demand in accordance with our ‘value over volume’ strategy.

“At the same time, we are realistically planning our volume for 2026 following the end of production of the 718 and Macan with combustion engines.”

Commonwealth Bank Launches Afterpay Competitor

CBA’s new buy now, pay later product is anywhere debit and credit cards are accepted.

The sports-car maker delivered 279,449 cars last year, down from 310,718 in 2024.