Christmas has come early for the bank’s shareholders with the decision to slightly increase the 2024 dividend – despite a single-digit decline in the net profit and cash earnings.
Beating the market benchmark is never easy, with 72 per cent of Australian actively managed global equity general funds trailing the S&P World Index in the six months to June 30, 2024. Domestic equity funds performed slightly better, albeit against a significantly lower bar set by the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
Buy Now Pay Later sector set to expand again
Just when you thought the Buy Now, Pay Later frenzy was over, yet another BNPL player is gearing up to list on the ASX and join this phenomenon. Coming to the party at this later stage hasn’t discouraged the company, Limepay, which is confident it has what it takes to capture market share in this ultra-competitive space.
So far, its uniquely focused platform has received positive feedback and has already raised seed capital during a round in December 2019, raising almost $30 million to scale the platform.
Ord Minnett and the advisory arm of Prime Financial are the lead and joint managers to this ASX listing. Domain Group (ASX: DHG) is planning to use Limepay’s platform as a way for sellers to pay marketing costs to real estate agents.
So what is Limepay and why is it so lucrative?
Yes, Limepay is another BNPL platform, and it operates in a similar manner but unlike all the other BNPL platforms. The main differentiation is that Limepay is retailer-focused rather than consumer-focused. It offers the retailer a white-labelled product that can be named after the company. It’s a niche product that no one else has developed that is capable of keeping a customer at bay while they remain on the retailer’s site.
The idea sits well with businesses. Someone like Bunnings, Woolies, Coles, Corporate Travel or Qantas could offer their customers the chance to create an account via mobile so that end-customers can use it to pay, effectively cutting out the middle-man and merchant fees that drive profitability in the sector.
Limepay offers payment to the retailer in full upfront and as soon as possible. Some of the listed benefits of the platform include:
- Corporates that use Limepay will be able to maintain their branding and exposure. Employing a third-party service such as Afterpay is not beneficial for those companies seeking to grow their own brand.
- No redirects to other websites. No extra logins or passwords. No friction. With Limepay, customers stay on the site until the product is paid for.
- This potentially reduces the risk of drop-offs and unsettled shopping carts;
Most importantly, Limepay empowers companies to build relationships that deliver a lifetime of value. With a wealth of customer data at your fingertips, you can learn exactly how people tick and how to keep them coming back for more.
Limepay offers payment in full – upfront or via instalment plans. These are customisable so that the retailer can increase the payment schedule from pay-in-four-instalments upward if required. A credit or debit card, or a digital wallet can be linked to the service.
One of Limepay’s goals is to bring consumers closer to their favourite brands, instead of sending them to a third party. Limepay plans to list on the ASX towards the second half of the calendar year.
