Afterpay, an Australian payments company, was purchased by Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc and Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp. The partnership ended after the firm cancelled the smartphone app it was using with the bank.
After Block’s $29Billion buyout earlier in the year, Afterpay, a buy-now-pay later star, said it had decided to integrate its products into its new “ecosystem”. This meant that the personal finance app, which was operated by the No. 3 Australian banks.
This decision ends a high-profile tie up that was only two years old. It also closes an avenue for Westpac customers to interact with them who are more mobile-friendly and less regulated than those offered by Afterpay.
Block will also be able to sell its Cash App service which allows people to send money one to another in Australia. Block makes money by charging fees for people who send each other bitcoins in the United States and Britain.
“Our decision to move forward in this new direction was due to our exciting next chapters with Block, especially as we consider Cash App opportunities here, in Australia,” Lee Hatton, Head of the decomissioned app Money By Afterpay, said.
Afterpay spokesperson stated that the company will stop signing up new users immediately and shut down the app on October 10.
A spokesperson for Westpac stated that the bank was proud to be the first in Australia to offer digital banking services. This is in addition to the work done by the Money by Afterpay team.
