AUSTRALIAN VENUE CO LAUNCHES PARTNERSHIP WITH AFTERPAY

Australian Venue Co (AVC) is the first hospitality group in the country to partner directly with Afterpay. The group has launched the new “Dine Now, Pay Later” option on 1 November 2021 at 12 NSW venues, before rolling out to all 160 venues across Australia on 15 November 2021. The launch comes as Australia emerges from a series of lockdowns across parts of the nation, having almost reached a 80% double vaccination rate, allowing for dining and hospitality groups to rebuild and regain after a difficult 20 months.

Australian Venue Co CEO Paul Waterson said that the move was driven by customer demand and a desire to continue to lead the industry in forward-thinking tech solutions.

“We’re not afraid to go first. As a group, we seek out other industry leaders who we can work with to innovate on behalf of our customers.”

“We’ve had enormous success with Mr Yum, which we launched pre-pandemic, and SevenRooms, which is a market-leading reservations platform. We’re excited to be the first group to apply a leading technology solution to the Australian hospitality context.”

Afterpay is a leading provider in the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) space. It is popular with consumers wanting to use their own money at checkout, having the flexibility to budget and spread-out payments over four interest-free instalments with no interest ever or fees if paid on time.

“Our customers have been clear. We know what they want, and we’re happy to offer them more flexibility, especially as they shift away from credit cards,” said Waterson.

Dine Now, Pay Later will launch in 160 AVC venues which include well-known establishments, such as, The Imperial Hotel and College Lawn in Melbourne, Winery and Bungalow 8 in Sydney and The Aviary and Sweetwater Rooftop in Perth.