Afterpay offerings added to Block: a sign of the future, says Nick Molnar

Jack Dorsey’s Block has begun its integration with Afterpay, making the Australian buy now, pay later platform available to its customers for the first time.

Afterpay co-founders Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen.

Jack Dorsey’s Block has begun its integration with Afterpay, making the Australian buy now, pay later platform available to its customers for the first time.

Shares in Block, now trading on the ASX after the tech giant’s takeover of the local player, rose 6 per cent, or $9.79, to $171.20.

Under the move, customers of Block’s payments division Square will be given the ability to check out with Afterpay’s BNPL services with no additional fees charged to sellers until the end of a promotional period running until May 10.

Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar said the pace at which his company was able to roll out this joint integration was a sign of what was to be expected in ­future.

“It’s truly day one for a variety of reasons and to announce this integration with Square coinciding with our day one as a joint ­organisation is an illustration of the strategic opportunity together and at the pace at which we’ll both move,” Mr Molnar said.

He said that, while the day was truly special for him, he didn’t have plans to celebrate.

“To be here on day one is an incredible privilege for the entire Afterpay team, but it’s also a testament to the Block organisation and how they’ve made us feel and how excited we are about the future,” he said.

Afterpay had received many requests to work with Square before the announcement of the acquisition in August last year, he said.

As a single company, Afterpay would be able to expand its offerings in Australia and abroad, in line with Square’s global expansion plans, “given that we’re presently live in 75 per cent of Square’s global market and we have a strong brand presence, especially in our home country of Australia, which is incredibly ­important for Square as well,” Mr Molnar said.

Block’s head of Square, Alyssa Henry, said Australian sellers from clothing stores to butcher shops had been requesting the use of Afterpay in Square platforms locally for months before the acquisition. “I think there’s a range of merchants we’ll now be able to serve with this Afterpay solution,” she said.

Ms Henry said people could expect more of Square’s US products to be made available in Australia in the near future.

“We’ve had a number of launches over the last 12 months including Square loans, which is now available in Australia,” she said.

Mr Molnar said both companies had come a long way from the initial announcement of the acquisition.

“The summer day we announced our transaction was incredibly exciting and as we’ve peeled back the layers and planned for how we’d bring this to life, it’s only made our strategic confidence accelerate,” he said.

“From my perspective, I’m just excited to move forward as one organisation and see what comes of the successes as it relates to the future.”