BNPL
HOW BUY NOW , PAY LATER BECAME A FINTECH FIXTURE
Buy Now , Pay Later ( BNPL ) Technology has Revolutionised the E-Commerce Industry in Recent Years – but Many Believe Tighter Regulation is Imperative
WRITTEN BY : TOM CHAPMAN
I t goes without saying that one of the more notable trends to emerge from the payments space in recent years is Buy Now , Pay Later ( BNPL ), which began gaining some traction in light of the global financial crisis .
Fast forward more than a decade and this alternative payment method ( APM ) has revolutionised the e-commerce industry , allowing shoppers to make purchases without having to pay the full amount up front – arguably making products more affordable .
Interest surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers resorted to online shopping and opted to spread payments due to associated economic hardship .
“ The growth of BNPL is closely tied to the rise of fintech , where technologydriven platforms are changing how financial services work ,” comments Marc Maxfield , a Principal Consultant specialising in financial services at PA Consulting .
“ These platforms use technology to quickly assess credit , making it possible for more people with limited credit histories or lower credit scores to access credit .”
Many would contend , however , that BNPL brings with it a host of hidden dangers , encouraging shoppers to abuse the schemes on offer and ultimately causing them to slip into a spiral of debt .
What most fintech players , as well as advocates and critics of BNPL , seem to agree on is that the general standard of customer protection must be raised and regulation cannot be neglected .
The rapid rise of BNPL BNPL has been catapulted into the mainstream at seemingly breakneck speed , to the extent that it has become a first port of call for a significant proportion of online shoppers .
The data does a lot of the talking on this front . According to Finder ’ s latest research , half of UK adults had used BNPL services by
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