Afterpay New Zealand’s profit jumps as more shoppers use buy now pay later
Afterpay has grown its revenue by 16.5% year-on-year as more Kiwis turn to the finance provider. Photo / Alex Cairns
Buy now pay later operator Afterpay had a bumper year in New Zealand last year, boosting its revenue by 16.5% and more than tripling its bottom line.
In the 12 months ended December 31, 2025, Afterpay New Zealand reported buy now pay later (BNPL) revenue of $119.99 million, up from $102.96m in 2024.
The company’s total revenue, including BNPL, late fee income and intercompany services revenue also rose, lifting from $121.9m to $143.1m year-on-year.
According to the financial statements, the company said its growth had been “primarily driven by an increase in the value of consumer orders processed through the BNPL platform as consumer and merchant demand for the Afterpay service has continued to grow”.
Afterpay New Zealand’s operating profit grew 63.1% year-on-year, lifting from $5.8m in 2024 to $9.5m in 2025.
After tax and expenses, the company reported a net profit for the year of $3.5m, up 214% from $1.1m in 2024.
Afterpay New Zealand has been approached for comment on the result.
The financial report also confirmed the company’s previous announcement of a “workforce reduction restructuring plan”, which will see job cuts across the business, as previously reported in the Australian Financial Review.
No information was given in the New Zealand financials on how many jobs would be cut, but the company expects the workforce plan will be “substantially complete” by the end of the second quarter of the financial year or June 30.
The company previously confirmed to the Herald it would not share impact numbers by region.
But Jack Dorsey, chief executive of US company Block, which owns Afterpay, said last year he planned to cut his 10,000 staff by 40%.
That was despite Block increasing its profit before tax by 17% to more than US$10 billion ($16.84b).
Block paid US$28b to buy Australian-founded Afterpay in 2022.
Growing usage
More than 500,000 people in New Zealand have used Afterpay in the past nine years, according to the company.
Buy now pay later grew in popularity during Covid, when people had to resort to shopping from home during lockdowns.
The growth gave rise to a large number of operators but the sector has shrunk in recent years to just a few players, with Afterpay remaining the largest operator in New Zealand.
Buy now pay later, which enables users to pay off their purchase in interest-free instalments while getting the product or service upfront, has been met with mixed views.
While some say it helps shoppers with their budget thanks to the instalment programme, others have criticised it for encouraging people to get into debt and then charging fees when they are late with payments.
RNZ recently reported that more people were turning to Afterpay in order to pay for everyday essentials like food and fuel.
Residents in the predominantly Māori town of Kaikohe who were struggling with high living costs turned to Afterpay to buy things like fuel, according to RNZ.
Alex “Moko” Tango had been dubbed the “Afterpay queen” of Kaikohe because she used it to pay for nearly everything, including groceries and hair appointments.
Speaking to RNZ’s Checkpoint, she said she had used it to buy groceries and household items from The Warehouse. She had also paid for a tank of fuel and taken her two dogs to the vet thanks to Afterpay.
Recent data from Centrix showed buy now pay later arrears improved in March.
Across all forms of debt, 95,000 Kiwis were more than 90 days behind on paying their debts, although consumer arrears overall had improved.
Personal loan arrears were still up, and personal loan hardship cases remained above year-ago levels.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
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