South African Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) pioneer PayJustNow has been recognised as the Best BNPL Service Initiative at the 2023 Global Payments Innovation Awards.
PayJustNow CEO Craig Newborn says the award is an important milestone for the company’s vision to be an alternative payment solution that drives financial inclusion in South Africa. "In four short years PayJustNow has established itself as the leading Buy Now, Pay Later provider in South Africa with a million customers and more than 2500 merchants using our service. I'd like to thank our team for their incredible commitment and to our customers and retail partners for their unwavering support."
The inaugural Global Payments Innovation Awards 2023, hosted by The Digital Banker, saw fintech innovators from across the globe submit an exciting range of payment innovations. A panel of judges from companies including KPMG, EY, PwC, Deloitte and Forrester considered entries based on specific criteria, with equal weighting given to the innovation, engagement, personalisation and user experience offered by each payment service.
With the global BNPL market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5% over the next three years, competition for the Best BNPL Service Initiative was fierce, with PayJustNow beating a number of top global BNPL providers.
PayJustNow provides online and in-store payment services that enable customers to pay for goods in three interest and fee free instalments, while receiving the goods immediately. By enabling a broader spectrum of consumers to access the products that they want and need in a budget-friendly way, PayJustNow simultaneously helps consumers who may not have an existing credit score to build up a credit record safely. Merchants and retailers benefit through higher-volume sales, larger basket sizes, and expanded customer bases.
The award win follows PayJustNow's incredible growth trajectory shown in its recent results announcement. The company increased its customer base from 649 000 at the end of 2022 to over 900 000 at the end of the first half of the current financial year, while growing its Goss Merchandise Value (GMV) by 149% over the same period. This growth played a key role in parent company Homechoice International's strong interim results released earlier this month.
Newborn says that despite the rapid growth, the company remains committed to being a responsible lender. “We have refined our system to ensure our customers are able to meet their financial commitments, leading to a reduction in successful applications from 82.8% to 66.8% despite the growth in our customer base. By reducing consumers’ reliance on unsecured lending and revolving credit facilities, we believe we are helping foster a healthier financial landscape in South Africa to the benefit of consumers and retailers alike.”
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