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.

President-elect Donald Trump named a Silicon Valley investor close to Elon Musk as the White House’s artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency policy chief, signaling the growing influence of tech leaders and loyalists in the new administration .

David Sacks , a former PayPal executive, will serve as the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar,” Trump said on his social-media platform Truth Social.

“In this important role, David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness,” he posted.

Musk and Vice President-elect JD Vance chimed in with congratulatory messages on X.

Sacks was one of the first vocal supporters of Trump in Silicon Valley, a region that typically leans Democratic. He hosted a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco in June that raised more than $12 million for Trump’s campaign. Sacks often used his “All-In” podcast to broadcast his support for the Republican’s cause.

The fundraiser drew several cryptocurrency executives and tech investors. Some attendees were concerned that America could lose its competitiveness in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence because of overregulation.

Many tech leaders had hoped the next president would have a friendlier stance on cryptocurrencies, which had come under scrutiny during the Biden administration.

“What the crypto industry has been asking for more than anything else is a clear legal framework to operate under. If Trump wins, the industry will get this, and more innovation will happen in the U.S.,” Sacks posted on X in July.

The tech industry has also pressed for friendlier federal policies around AI and successfully lobbied to quash a California AI bill industry leaders said would kill innovation.

Sacks’ venture-capital firm, Craft Ventures, has invested in crypto and AI startups. Sacks himself has led investment rounds in many. He has previously invested in companies such as Slack, SpaceX, Uber and Facebook.

Sacks was the former chief operating officer of PayPal, whose founders included Musk and Peter Thiel . The group, called the “PayPal mafia,” has been front and center this election because of its financial muscle and influence in drumming up support for Trump.

Commonwealth Bank Launches Afterpay Competitor

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

Tech investor was one of the most outspoken supporters of Trump in Silicon Valley