Zip Co is a member of the Australian Finance Industry Association Limited (‘AFIA’) and has been approved as a founding member of the Buy Now Pay Later Code of Practice (‘BNPL Code’). The BNPL Code can be reviewed here and is applicable from 1 March 2021.
The BNPL Code was developed to enable the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) industry to take a proactive approach to increasing consumer protections and go beyond current regulatory obligations for BNPL Products or Service. The Code has been developed by the Australian Finance Industry Association Limited (AFIA) in close consultation with key stakeholders including consumer groups, government, regulators and companies in the BNPL Industry.
This Code has been voluntarily developed and is intended to assist Code Compliant Members of the AFIA BNPL Providers Group to:
- Promote a customer-centric approach to the design, marketing and distribution of a BNPL Product or Service;
- Promote high industry standards of service for customers and build best practices across the BNPL Industry; and
- Support compliance with legal and industry obligations.
Under the BNPL Code, we have made nine commitments to you as a customer:
We will focus on customers…
- By providing high quality products and services that are inclusive and accessible.
- By ensuring our staff treat you with sensitivity, understanding and best industry practice, especially when it comes to the factors that are or could contribute to you being financially vulnerable.
- By having safeguards in place to ensure the product or service is suitable for you, including age restrictions (18+) and being responsive to feedback and complaints.
We will be fair, honest and ethical in all our dealings…
- By not allowing our platforms to be used to purchase goods or services that have legal and regulatory restrictions on finance being provided for them, e.g. gambling and illegal weapons.
- By taking steps to ensure that there is no unlawful unsolicited marketing or selling of BNPL products or services.
We will keep you informed about our product or service…
- By being transparent about instalments, features and fees involved with your BNPL payments.
- With an inclusive and accessible digital platform that will provide accurate resources and information before and throughout your BNPL contract.
We will make sure our BNPL product or service is suitable for you…
- By assessing your suitability for the desired BNPL product or service.
- If you are behind on your repayments, we will not provide you with any additional BNPL products or services.
We will undertake an ongoing review of the suitability of our products or services…
- By monitoring how existing customers are using our BNPL products and services.
- In our monitoring we will use a variety of data, feedback and complaint resolutions.
We will deal fairly with complaints…
- By acknowledging all complaints within 1 business day, or as soon as practicable, and providing a written response within 10 business days from the date of the complaint.
- By being a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) so that you may lodge a complaint with them, if you are dissatisfied with our response.
- If you are not satisfied with AFCA’s response, you will be able to escalate the complaint to the BNPL Code Compliance Committee.
We will offer financial hardship assistance…
- By ensuring you can submit a Hardship Request that is fair and accessible.
- By responding to your Hardship Request within 21 days of receiving it and clearly communicating the options available to assist with your situation.
- We will freeze any late fees while we are considering your Hardship Request, and where we find we cannot grant you hardship assistance, we will give you fair and justified reasons.
We will comply with our legal and industry obligations…
- By maintaining good practice, respecting your privacy and not permitting your personal or financial information to be shared with other finance providers unless used for the purpose of credit reporting or we receive your express consent.
- We will comply with relevant unfair contract laws.
We will support and promote this Code…
- Through accessibility and promotion on our website and other digital platforms.
- With trained staff (regularly reviewed) that understand the various aspects of the Code and how to comply with it.
Under the BNPL Code, we are subject to the oversight of the Code Compliance Committee (‘CCC’) which is the independent committee established by AFIA to monitor and investigate compliance with the BNPL Code. Zip’s commitment to you under the BNPL Code are enforceable through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (‘AFCA’). If you have a specific dispute with us that involves a breach of the BNPL Code, you should contact Zip in the first instance and then contact AFCA, if your issue has not been rectified by our team. For details on how to contact AFCA or Zip please see further details here. AFCA will not deal with any issue unless you have tried to resolve the problem with us first. In addition, you can also raise your concerns with the CCC. The CCC will not consider your complaint if you are still trying to resolve it with us, or with AFCA. Any further information surrounding the BNPL Code, AFIA, CCC and our Complaints and Hardship approaches, please see the links below.
Link BNPL Code https://www.afia.asn.au/bnpl-code
Link hardship https://zip.co/page/vulnerability-and-hardship
Link complaints https://zip.co/page/disputes-and-complaints