Nick Holt Amid the cost-of-living crisis , there has been a huge growth in consumer demand for Buy Now , Pay Later ( BNPL ) and microcredit , specifically from individuals struggling to access credit through more traditional means . Recent Marqeta research found 38 % of UK respondents had used BNPL services to make ends meet in the preceding 12 months , increasing to 61 % among 26 to 34-year-olds .

As a result , I ’ ve been fascinated by fintechs that are enabling individuals to access shortterm credit in a reliable , consumer-centric manner . The innovation doesn ’ t lie in the infrastructure and technology enabling the assignment of credit and instalment repayments . but rather in how BNPL systems seamlessly assign credit on a transactionby-transaction basis at checkout .

The development of these fintech platforms has encouraged short-term credit options to be rapidly integrated into consumer culture and retailers ’ checkout processes , ultimately allowing credit to trickle down to those that need it . If the development of BNPL can be successfully paired with improved consumer

126 March 2024