Australia’s largest marketplace for university students, QPay, has teamed up with neobank Volt to enhance and streamline its range of student services and provide integrated payment and savings capabilities, in a partnership that will kick off in the second half of 2021.

 

The partnership was signed as QPay is currently in the midst of closing a Series A equity crowdfunding round via Birchal to expand and grow its services on campuses internationally.

QPay is already backed by Australia’s most prolific VC firms, including Blackbird Ventures and Steve Baxter’s TLI investments. It is experiencing rapid growth fuelled by the inherently social aspects of the platform. It’s currently on track to achieve $2.1 million in revenue by the end of 2021, which represents a fivefold increase from the previous year. 

The QPay app is currently used by 1 in 4 (400,000) students across Australia, transacting more than $30 million on the platform. This includes purchasing items on campus such as society event ticketing, memberships, merchandise, textbooks, and retail deals.

 

Both QPay and Volt share a common goal of teaching financial literacy through spending wisely and saving often, and by promoting positive financial habits.

 

Zak Bouguettaya, QPay CEO and co-founder, said: “QPay’s mission is to provide a one-stop financial hub for students through the provision of tools that allow them to make better decisions, and powered by a sophisticated recommendation engine. This new partnership will come at a critical time in the financial lives of our student customers, who are highly engaged and a powerful force to be reckoned with. We currently have the ears of 1 in 4 students across Australia at a point when they are open to new experiences and not necessarily rusted on to one of the big four banks just yet.”

 

Muhammad Satti, Co-Founder & CFO of QPay, said: “It’s shocking that 48 per cent of Aussies live paycheck to paycheck, and people under the age of 25 are the most financially stressed in history. QPay’s debit card uses a proprietary AI system that gives a student actionable insights on every purchase and a goal to save, based on their particular spending habits. For example, it rewards users for maintaining a high bank balance, with QPay points that can be redeemed for cool stuff around campus. And because it dovetails with our AI-powered loyalty scheme, it encourages students to keep track of their spend and rewards, which in turn makes them more mindful of each purchase - a great life lesson.”

 

Steve Weston, Volt Bank CEO and Co-founder, said: “We are excited to be partnering with QPay to provide great financial products and services to the domestic student market in the later half of the year. We believe QPay and Volt are culturally and strategically aligned, and look forward to developing this relationship further over the coming years.”