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Buy-now pay-later (BNPL) player Humm Group (ASX: HUM) has today cracked into the United Kingdom, hoping to take advantage of the country's $778 billion retail market.
In Australia, Humm - formerly known as FlexiGroup - targets customers making larger retail expenditures with limits of up to $30,000 in credit and up to 24 months to pay, interest free.
That same approach will be taken in the UK where the company is focusing on providing its BNPL offering to customers in the home improvement, health, automotive and luxury verticals.
According to HUM, the current annual spend in the UK for those sectors is estimated to be just under $200 billion.
The company is keeping its mind open though, noting the $778 billion total retail spend in the UK also presents a sizable market opportunity for Humm UK.
In the first stage of the group's international expansion Humm UK will leverage the already-existing Irish business which has a network of more than 1,600 retail partners.
Humm Group CEO Rebecca James says many of these retailers operate in the UK too and have welcomed the BNPL company's unique proposition as a provider that can service both markets.
"We're delighted that customers in the UK will now be able to humm their purchases, giving them more choice, transparency and flexibility over how and when they pay," says James.
The current chairman of the Northern Ireland Investment Fund Scrutiny Board has joined Humm's UK Board as chairman of the offshoot.
Kirkpatrick was previously chairman of business advisory firm BDO North Ireland and was non-executive director and chairman of the Audit Committee for Wireless Group plc and Mutual Energy Limited.
He will be joined by Helene Birchet and Tim Turner as Humm UK non-executive directors.
"We're building on the considerable momentum of Humm Group in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland as we bring Humm BNPL to the UK," Kirkpatrick said.
"On behalf of my fellow board members, I'm delighted to be joining the business at this exciting time as personal finance in the UK transitions to a more digital, customer-friendly experience.
"Our board has strength and capability across regulation, finance, and customer experience which will be invaluable as Humm grows the UK business."
The expansion follows from HUM's partnership with listed neobank Douugh (ASX: DOU) that saw the two form a joint venture to launch a new product in the UK market.
As part of the JV Humm will provide its technology platform to Douugh to manage a lined of credit of up to US$1,000 to eligible customers through a dedicated 'Credit Jar'.
Shares in HUM are down 0.3 per cent to $0.99 per share at $2.57pm AEST.
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