Afterpay has turned out to be Westpac’s first fintech partner to operate on its new banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform.

Through the partnership, Afterpay will facilitate Westpac transactions and savings accounts, and other cash flow management tools for its 3.3 million Australian customers in Q2 2021. It will also enable the company to understand savings from a customer’s perspective and help them keep away from debt traps.

The new digital platform is based on cloud-native technology provided by 10x Future Technologies. It allows Westpac to strengthen its relationship with fintech partners as they tap into traditional banking services for the roll-out of new products for their users.

Westpac CEO Peter King said: “Fintech innovation is changing banking in important ways, and our new digital banking platform is part of our long-term strategy to support this trend and better respond to changing customer needs. The platform allows us to combine our banking experience with the innovation of our partners to support new customer experiences.”

Afterpay CEO Anthony Eisen said: “Afterpay is in a unique position to extend and deepen the relationship with our customers and help them to manage their money more seamlessly through savings and budgeting tools. For Afterpay, this is clearly just the beginning as we explore this opportunity globally.”

Westpac’s General Manager, Corporate and Business Development, Macgregor Duncan, comments: “We have built the platform to allow us to collaborate closely with our partners, and we are excited to work with Afterpay to pioneer services relevant to, and reflective of, its customer base and unique business model.”