By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Afterpay Ltd. has split its chief executive and managing director role, giving Nick Molnar equal billing with co-founder Anthony Eisen in a move the buy-now-pay-later platform said reflects the importance of its growing international operations.

Afterpay on Tuesday said Mr. Molnar will return to the United States, where he was previously Afterpay's U.S. CEO. Mr. Eisen, who previously held the CEO and MD roles, will remain in Australia.

Australia's No.1 buy-now-pay-later provider by market capitalization and market share said the pair will continue to share responsibility for executing strategy.

"As Afterpay continues to expand globally, the focus on its international operations has never been greater," Afterpay said in a statement.

"As such, the co-founders and the board believe that it is important to have an appropriate level of oversight, executive prominence and presence both internationally and domestically."

Mr. Molnar said Afterpay had made a solid start in Canada following its August launch there. Its expansion into mainland Europe remains subject to regulatory approval by the Bank of Spain, while it has established a base in Singapore from which to enter Southeast Asia, Mr. Molnar said.

All Afterpay merchants can now open their ecommerce sites to international shoppers from Australia, the U.K., Canada and New Zealand, Mr. Molnar said. They will be able to sell cross-border to U.S. consumers from next year.

Afterpay last month said it had 11.2 million active customers at the end of its fiscal first quarter, up from 5.7 million a year earlier and from 9.9 million at the end of fiscal 2020.

With the coronavirus pandemic pushing consumers and merchants online due to restrictions on movement and trade, it had 6.5 million customers in the U.S., where it launched in 2018.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-16-20 1810ET