The Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) share price is rallying on Tuesday after the company announced the signing of significant strategic partnerships across key verticals in Australia and the United Kingdom.
At the time of writing, the Openpay share price is 3.04% higher at $1.355.
Openpay share price higher lifts on major expansions
From the get-go, Openpay has focused on differentiating itself from peers in the "pay-in-4" space by focusing on longer, larger, verticalised plans in meaningful industries.
The company was pleased to announce a number of significant wins in Australia to "solidify its position as a market-leading BNPL provider in the Automotive vertical".
Openpay signed a partnership with tyre marketer, wholesaler and retailer, Goodyear & Dunlop Tyres Australia. This will bring on board 160 company-owned Beaurepaires stores that can now offer Openpay services as an alternative payment option.
Openpay already had an existing 143 Goodyear Autocare Centres and 148 Dunlop Super Dealer stores using its services prior to today's partnership.
In addition, the company signed partnership agreements with the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) and Bosch Car Service Australia to offer Openpay services at more than 5,000 locations combined.
The Openpay share price could also be benefiting from the company's growth in the Healthcare vertical.
According to today's announcement, Openpay signed a partnership with Nexus Hospital to offer services to self-funded patients through the private hospital and specialists network.
In addition, Openpay entered into the UK healthcare sector with an agreement with Henry Schein, Software of Excellence, a global leader in the provision of dental price management software.
Openpay highlighted that "[w]ith reach to over 6,000 sites in the UK, this partnership will accelerate Openpay's ability to acquire nearly half of the UK's dental market".
Back in March, Openpay revealed its entry into the US$55.8b US and UK veterinary markets in partnership with cloud-based practice management software platform, ezyVet.
In today's announcement, Openpay advised that its global integration with the ezyVet platform went live in the UK with several major veterinary practices signed and onboarded.
Management commentary
Openpay managing director and CEO Michael Eidel commented on the major automotive wins, saying:
Automotive is at the core of our verticalised strategy as this is a sector where we can make a very meaningful difference to both merchants and customers. Access to longer and higher value plans means that unexpected and even scheduled car servicing and parts payments can be spread over time – delivering a tangible, positive impact on the household budget and cashflow.
The announcement concluded with broader strategic commentary from Eidel.
Openpay continues to establish partnerships with major ecosystem providers and aggregators in our target verticals across our key markets. With these new partnerships, we have deepened our focus into our core verticals in the UK, which together with the anticipated Payment Assist acquisition in Automotive and our imminent US launch, will set us up to achieve our long-term objectives of sustainable growth and profitability.
Openpay share price snapshot
The share prices of smaller BNPL players have struggled to stay afloat in the past 12 months.
The Openpay share price is no exception, down 42% year-to-date and 59% in the past year.
