Afterpay, an Australian buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company that is now owned by Jack Dorsey’s Square, has stated that it plans to pursue bitcoin services once the legislative framework is clear.
Representatives from Afterpay spoke at the Senate inquiry into “Australia as a Technology and Financial Center” on Sept. 8, following up on their contribution to the committee, which suggested that businesses may reduce payment costs by using cryptocurrency.
“This idea of being able to trade currencies from person to person or from a merchant without passing through the usual rails might offer a lot of efficiencies,” said Damian Kassabgi, Afterpay’s vice president of public relations and communications.
Senator Andrew Bragg, a crypto enthusiast, inquired if Afterpay has any plans to offer cryptocurrency services in the future. Afterpay’s executive vice president, Lee Hatton, said that if the regulatory path was clear, the company would be more likely to accommodate client demand for cryptocurrency:
“Once we’re able to understand the regulatory framework in this space, we can absolutely see where our customers are going. And it would seem to us that they are going to want to participate in this way.”
“We will undoubtedly see a portion of our consumers begin to use [Bitcoin], and we will undoubtedly search for a means to assist them in doing so,” she added.
The regulatory picture for cryptocurrency in Australia is still uncertain, as the government has yet to put in place a comprehensive framework.
Back in May, Bragg encouraged the government to “stay ahead of the game” by enacting legislation to safeguard consumers and promote innovation.
The conversation then went on to stablecoins, with Kassabgi underlining the importance of adopting a AUD-backed stablecoin for consumer-to-merchant payments.
“It is not difficult to imagine a world in which a privately issued stablecoin pegged to the Australian dollar, one that passes from consumer to consumer or consumer to merchant with very little friction, where traditional payment rails are not used, interchange fees are close to non-existent, and there is no commercial bank as an intermediary,” he said.
“This future vision has a lot of advantages. However, there is still work to be done in order to create a safe and effective regulatory environment,” he noted.
