Apple Pay is about to mow down Afterpay to become Australia’s leading BNPL

The first mover advantage that turned Block-owned Afterpay enjoyed since its launch nine years ago is about to end, with the world’s most valuable tech company, Apple, set to become Australia’s leading buy-now-play-later (BNPL).

The Roy Morgan Digital Payments Report reveals it’s taken just 7 years for Apple Pay to build its local market penetration, with around 3.2 million Australian users (15.2% of the population), just behind Afterpay at 3.3 million users (15.6%), with the smartphone solution due to overtake the Australian fintech within months.

Apple Pay has grown 4.1% points in 12 months, from 11.1% of Australians in February 2022 to 15.2% a year later, as Afterpay’s growth began to flatline over the last six months, just as Apple Pay’s user growth accelerated. Afterpay grew by 1.5% in the past year from from 14.1% in February 20232 – an increase of 1.5% points in a year.