Daily Price Movement / General Discussion, page-44604

https://www.bankingday.com/public/f83e02d0-3ba2-4da2-9981-9dd97654ee4c

Zebit could be a harbinger of a tsunami of ASX departures in the BNPL sector this year following a sustained dive in market valuations of industry players such as Openpay and Splitit in the last 12 months.

Critics of the sector such as leading payments consultant Grant Halverson believe the business models of local BNPL providers are unsustainable and flawed.

“The business models for locally listed BNPL companies are broken,” he said.

“Those models have been predicated on rapid growth in customers and sales but the world has now changed – you need positive net cash flow and earnings to justify valuations – and none of the BNPL companies listed on the ASX have that.”

According to research conducted by Halverson’s consulting firm McLean Roche, the average revenue per customer for 11 locally listed BNPL providers is currently running at only $4.75 a year.

“You can’t run a profitable business on that level of spend - most corner-stores are doing better,” Halverson said.