BUY NOW PAY LATER PLATFORMS MARKET ANALYSIS

Buy now pay later platforms allow user to purchase products instantaneously and pay for it afterwards. This platform has become very popular in the recent 2-3 years, owing to the ‘No Interest’ benefit. Many buy now pay later platforms such as Afterpay do not charge interest for a defined period of time. Also, in BNPL platforms, the payment can be paid in installments.

The global buy now pay later platforms market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period (2020–2027). The growth of the buy now pay later platforms market is majorly attributed to wide number of benefits offered by the buy now pay later platforms to its users. The registration of the buy now pay platforms is very easy. Once the online account on BNPL platforms is created, the user gets instantaneous approval for bills for a defined amount.

The major factor restraining the growth of the global buy now pay later platforms market is increasing complaints of susers regarding the high late fees and mounting debts. For instance, Afterpay charges US$ 10 for each missed payment and US$ 7 if the installment remains unpaid after a week. The users who miss all the installments are charged with a late fees of US$ 68. Moreover, the BNPL platforms such as Zip charges users who have an unpaid balance with US$ 6 on a monthly basis.

The global buy now pay later platforms market was valued at US$ 10.42 Bn in 2021.

Recent Developments:

• In July 2022, PayPal Holdings Inc., a financial technology company operating an online payments system introduced a new business credit card to its portfolio of credit products to assist small business owners with their ongoing financial demands. The card has no annual fee and offers 2% cash back on all purchases to cardholders. One of the best cashback rewards available, it has no restrictions on the amount of cashback you can receive or the expiration date.

Restraint:

• High late fee charges

Buy Now Pay Later Platforms Market - Impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic:

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the economies of various countries across the globe. According to the International Monetary Fund Analysis, the global economy had been shrinked down. Along with the decreasing GDP, the purchasing power of people across the globe was also decreased. Moreover, according to Coherent Market Insights analysis in 2020, the unemployment rate in countries such as the U.S. was increased. Also, over 20 million citizens in the U.S. had applied for unemployment benefits. Owing to all these factors, people across the globe took the support of BNPL platforms to pay their bills. Due to this online transactions using BNPL platforms were increased during pandemic.

North America held a dominant position in the global buy now pay later platforms market in 2021

Statistics:

North America region dominated the global buy now pay later platforms market in 2021, accounting for a 43.7% share in terms of value, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America, respectively

Figure 1: Global Buy Now Pay Later Platforms Market Share (%), By Region, 2021

North America held dominant position in the global buy now pay later platforms market in 2021 and is projected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period, owing to increased number of internet users.

According to Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, North America had 397 million internet users in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of during the forecast period. In the recent years, internet users have been mostly using online payment through debit/credit cards, digital wallets, and buy now pay later platforms due to the various benefits such as cashbacks and discounts on the bills.

Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region during the forecast period. This is owing to increasing mobile internet users in this region. According to Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, mobile internet penetration in Asia Pacific region increased from 45% in 2020 to 49% in 2021. The number of mobile internet users are also expected significantly increase during the forecast period, owing to the rapidly increasing internet users in emerging economies such as China and India. Majorly BNPL payments are done from mobile phones.

Figure 2: Global Buy Now Pay Later Platforms Market (US$ Mn) Analysis and Forecast, 2017 - 2030

The global buy now pay later platforms market was valued at US$ 10.42 Bn in 2021 and is expected to reach US$ 59.11 Bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 21.5% between 2022 and 2030.

Major players operating in the global buy now pay later platforms market include Afterpay, Zippay, VISA, Sezzle, Affirm, Paypal, Splitit, Latitude Financial Services, Klarna, Humm, and Openpay.