Openpay: Major buy now pay later firm goes into liquidation as doubts grow about the future of controversial credit services
Buy now, pay later app Openpay has gone bankrupt for nine months after customers were no longer able to make purchases.
Insolvency firm Cathro & Partners Pty Limited was appointed as administrators late on Tuesday afternoon, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced.
The previous liquidator McGrathNicol revealed in April that the company owed creditors $66.1 million.
The company was originally founded in 2013 as an in-store digital platform in Australia and New Zealand, but expanded in 2016 when it became known as Openpay.
But less than a decade after its launch, Openpay announced in February that customers would no longer be able to make new purchases as they had paid off existing debts.
Buy now, pay late app Openpay has gone bankrupt nine months after it stopped customers from making purchases
At the time, McGrathNicol partners Barry Kogan, Jonathan Henry and Rob Smith were appointed as trustees and managers of Openpay Group Ltd.
On Tuesday, ASIC announced that Simon Cathro, managing partner at Cathro & Partners, would be the manager.
A virtual meeting for creditors will be held via Microsoft Teams on December 5.
The Reserve Bank this month raised interest rates for the thirteenth time in eighteen months, putting pressure on spending among younger consumers as they battle rising mortgage rates or rents.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones announced in May that buy now, pay later apps such as Afterpay and Zip must have a credit license and meet responsible lending obligations.