Zip (formerly Zip Co) was founded in 2013 by Larry Diamond and Peter Gray in Sydney, Australia. The company launched on the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) in 2015 and has grown into one of the largest BNPL players outside of Klarna and Affirm.
Zip offers two main products. Zip Pay is a digital wallet with a credit limit up to $1,000, allowing interest-free purchases repaid in installments. Zip Money provides larger credit lines up to $50,000 for bigger purchases, with an interest-free promotional period. In the US market, Zip primarily operates a pay-in-four model similar to competitors.
The company expanded aggressively between 2020 and 2022, entering the US, UK, Europe, Middle East, and other markets. But the BNPL sector faced headwinds as interest rates rose and regulators tightened scrutiny. Zip responded by pulling back from unprofitable markets — it exited the UK, India, Mexico, and several other countries to focus on its core markets of Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
That strategic retreat paid off. By 2024, Zip had achieved its first cash-flow-positive quarter and reported transaction volumes of over $10 billion annually. The US market became its fastest-growing segment. Zip processes payments for thousands of merchants and serves millions of consumers. It’s headquartered in Sydney with US offices in New York.
