I'm a lit worried as well to be honest, but there is possibly a stroke of genius here.
However consider this - If BNPL has only penetrated 10% of the Australian market, and Z1P is already starting to slow down here in aus then the following will need to occur.
1. More b2b door knocking to get merchant sign ups 2. More aggressive advertising to consumers to sign up to z1p. 3. Reduction in merchant fees
Now consider, that as a consumer, I don't care whether the merchant pays a fee, or I simply tap and go. So if I'm shopping online or in store I'm not necessarily going to take one over the other. If the merchant has Z1P i can just use the normal channel, if they don't I can just use my Z1P card.
This makes the addressable market much larger for Z1P. It could also reduce the capital costs of going b2b to merchants, and advertising campaigns.
There will be some canabilisation of current consumers, but to suggest it's going to be a meaningful amount might be a bit too pessimistic. It could be a stroke of genius for Z1P as it opens up the consumers base 5x fold. It may also attract consumers away from APT, SZL, Klarna etc.
I also note Z1P knocked back Westpac's advance, and instead Westpac had to go to APT.
(20min delay)