Zip Co and Microsoft declined to comment on whether they planned to integrate Zip Co’s buy now pay later (BNPL) services into the Edge browser for Australian consumers.
The integration was first made available in developer versions of Microsoft Edge last month, and it will be included by default in Microsoft Edge release 96.
As a result of the collaboration, customers can pay in installments at most online checkouts. On the other hand, users were mostly disappointed by the presence of BNPL directly in the browser, arguing that it should be an optional add-on.
They were concerned about adding unneeded features to the browser experience.
In January, Zip Co will offer US consumers a free trial through their own Microsoft account, allowing transactions without the Zip service cost. A spokeswoman for Zip Co informed that “for the time being, this is a US project,” with no intentions to expand to Australian consumers.
“We’ve been collaborating with Microsoft on integrating Zip into the Edge browser.” “a spokeswoman stated, “We are collaborating with Microsoft to finalize the whole go-live date [in the United States].”
A Microsoft Australia spokeswoman declined to comment on the company’s ambitions for expansion in Australia. ZipCo is based in Sydney and is publicly traded on the ASX.
Treasury’s recently announced regulations may complicate any prospective attempts to expand Edge integration into the Australian market to overhaul the payment and digital asset industry. The Treasury will begin consulting on the revisions in early 2022, resulting in tighter regulation of digital wallet providers and buy-now, pay-later businesses like Zip Co.
