The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price is having a mixed morning on Friday.
In morning trade, the banking giant's shares are up ever so slightly to $27.83.
This compares to a 0.7% gain by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
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Why is the ANZ share price underperforming the ASX 200?
The ANZ share price isn't the only one in the banking sector underperforming the ASX 200 today.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are actually dropping today despite the market's solid gains.
This mirrors what happened on Wall Street overnight. Although the Dow and Nasdaq stormed higher, the financial sector acted as a drag on proceedings.
BNPL news
Not even the announcement of plans to take on Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) in the buy now pay later (BNPL) market has been able to boost the ANZ share price higher.
This morning ANZ announced that it will partner with Visa to launch a new feature for credit card customers.
Once it is launched in 2022, the new Visa Instalments feature will provide ANZ credit card customers with an option at the checkout or online to make purchases through interest free instalments across a wide range of terms.
ANZ's Head of Cards and Personal Lending, Mike Shurlin, said: "We want to provide our customers with flexibility in how they manage their purchases, which is why we are pleased to work with Visa on launching this new feature."
"We know many of our customers will use this option for certain purchases while choosing a standard credit card transaction for other items. Having that choice with no need for additional steps means they have a simple and secure feature through their existing card."
"We have partnered with Visa many times in the past and share a focus on building features that make customers' lives easier while maintaining high security standards," he concluded.
The ANZ share price is up 21% in 2021.
