#BnplGoingToZero, page-895

The number of ‘active customers’ as at the end of June 2024 of 2.2 million was down 5.4 per cent over a year and down 1.7 per cent over three months.

Zip continues to make headway in signing up merchants, with 55,100 merchants at the end of June, up 14.1 per cent over a year.

The metrics on transaction volume and merchants confirm that Zip, in common with what remains of the broader buy now, pay later sector, accounts for an immaterial share of payments activity.

In the US (which is now Zip’s sole international market) transaction volume leapt 41 per cent over a year and lifted nine per cent over the quarter to US$1.16 billion.

But active customers in the US, at 3.8 million, was down 1.4 per cent over a year. The increase in merchant numbers was meagre, with this number standing at 24,200.

Thus there are material qualifications on the turnaround story that Zip is selling – and which investors have been buying into this year.

As is standard, Zip provided (favourable) earnings guidance on an EBITDA basis.

While Zip reported a profit over the December 2023 half, on the basis of the June quarter trading update any FY2024 profit will depend on cost management, interest costs and credit costs.

Accumulated losses for Zip, up to December 2023, were $2.09 billion, which compares with issued capital of $2.2 billion.