Afterpay finds more Kiwis earn from multiple sources

Afterpay has published New Zealand research showing that 40% of employed people now earn income from multiple sources. The findings suggest a move away from relying on a single salary and fixed pay cycle.

The survey of 1,012 New Zealand adults found that almost four in five employed respondents said multiple income streams are far more common now than five years ago. Weekly and fortnightly pay remain the most common arrangements, but the data suggests more people are receiving money at different times throughout the month.

That shift in income patterns is flowing through to consumer spending habits. Retail purchases among Afterpay customers are now spread more evenly across the month, with end-of-month spending peaks roughly half the level seen five years ago.

Its busiest shopping day has also shifted from Thursday to Saturday across Australia and New Zealand, which Afterpay linked to consumers making purchases according to their schedules rather than around a traditional payday.

Changing work

The research portrays a labour market in which flexibility is becoming a stronger influence on how people choose to work. More than a third of employed New Zealanders, or 34%, ranked lifestyle flexibility as their top career priority, overtaking the traditional 9-to-5 model as the main work preference highlighted in the findings.

Respondents also indicated that payment systems have not kept pace with those changes. Nearly half, or 48%, said traditional payment schedules do not reflect how they earn today, while 75% said New Zealand's payment systems need to support modern workers better.

The figures add to a broader picture of cost pressures shaping household behaviour. The research suggests people are becoming more deliberate about how they earn, spend and manage money as they deal with tighter budgets and less predictable cash flow.

For payment providers and retailers, the data points to a shift in the rhythm of consumer demand. If income arrives from several sources at different points in the month, spending is less likely to cluster around a single payday, making older assumptions about purchasing cycles less reliable.

Payments focus

Buy now, pay later groups have long positioned themselves around flexibility at the checkout, and Afterpay is using the findings to connect that model to changing employment patterns as well as consumer purchases. It said the spread of what it describes as portfolio earners is changing the context in which payment products are used.

One implication is that payment timing is becoming a more prominent issue in consumer finance. Workers balancing salaried roles with contract work, part-time jobs or other income streams may face a more fragmented cash-flow picture, even if their total earnings remain stable.

The findings come as digital payment providers compete to show their services match the way consumers now work and spend. In that market, evidence of a move away from fixed monthly cycles could support arguments for payment tools designed around more variable household finances.

Afterpay operates in New Zealand as part of Block's wider payments business. It is also active in Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, where it trades as Clearpay.

New Zealand remains a market where weekly and fortnightly wages are common, making any broad move away from a single predictable pay packet notable. The research suggests that even within those established payroll structures, secondary income sources are becoming a larger part of household finances.

That may have implications beyond shopping behaviour. If a greater share of workers receive income in smaller amounts and at less regular intervals, pressure may grow on banks, payment firms and employers to offer tools that align more closely with those patterns.

"As more Kiwis build portfolio careers, flexible payment tools aren't a nice-to-have, they're the financial infrastructure modern earning requires. This is exactly what Afterpay was built for - variable income, multiple sources, non-linear spending," Francis Lovegrove, NZ sales lead at Afterpay, commented.