⁍ Australian buy-now-pay-later firm Afterpay Ltd will team up with Westpac Banking Corp to offer savings accounts.

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⁍ The accounts will be available to Afterpay’s three million-plus customers in Australia from next year.

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⁍ The announcement sent Afterpay’s shares up 6% and past the A$100 mark for the first time.

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– Australian buy-now-pay-later firm Afterpay will team up with Westpac Banking Corp to offer savings accounts, the two companies said on Tuesday, signalling a shift by the alternative credit firm into mainstream banking, per Reuters. The accounts will be available to Afterpay’s three million-plus customers in Australia from next year through Westpac’s digital banking platform, and will help give the firm greater insight into its customers’ financial habits, it said. The announcement sent Afterpay’s shares up 6% and past the A$100 mark for the first time, highlighting the staggering rise for a stock that was at just A$8 in March. For Westpac, which last month reached a record A$1.3 billion settlement with Australia’s financial crime agency for allowing illicit payments, the venture marks a push into mainstream banking. Afterpay and its buy-now-pay-later peers, who let users buy goods and pay over interest-free installments, have been heralded as disruptors of traditional credit and have surged in popularity as the coronavirus crisis accelerates the shift online. RBC Capital Markets analyst Tim Piper said in a note that processing through Westpac could lower costs for Afterpay, while more customer data could result ‘better credit decision and potentially lower loss rates.’ Afterpay currently does not conduct credit checks on its customers, it says the tie-up opens the door to new revenue streams and could be adopted globally.