Global Buy Now Pay Later Industry and Trends 2021

Global Buy Now Pay Later Industry and Trends 2021

Buy now, pay later services have gained momentum during the pandemic: new yStats.com report.

The latest publication from Germany-based online research firm yStats.com, “Global Buy Now Pay Later Industry and Trends 2021” provides insights into the current state and future trends of the BNPL industry across the globe. The publication reveals that due to the economic disruptions in 2020, the demand for BNPL payments increased significantly, and new local players appeared in different regions.

The global health crisis accelerated the use of BNPL services
Mainly in the developed world, BNPL services gained special attention during the COVID-19 health crisis. In the regions like Africa, however, the service providers still face issues such as limited credit infrastructure and a weak purchasing power. Generally, from the consumers side, BNPL adoption is mainly driven by the younger generation, and the main reason to use the services include zero interest rates and transparent payment plans and conditions. Moreover, a sampling of UK consumers showed that out of the traditional BNPL offerings, the majority of respondents prefer installment payments, rather than paying full amount later, according the new yStats.com publication.

Growth of the BNPL practice attracts the attention of government regulators
In many countries worldwide, local payment authorities raised concerns about the current state of the BNLP industry regulations. Often the practice does not fit the definition of traditional loans, which require interest rate payments, special rules are needed for these services. For example, in Europe, the European Commission announced the update of current consumer credit agreements to include BNPL service providers; the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is to introduce new regulations in 2021; and the Reserve Bank of Australia is also contemplating new rules. National and regional regulators are mainly concerned about consumer default issues due to overspending and lack of transparency about the BNPL service conditions: alone in the USA, a significant share of BNPL users have already missed at least one payment, while well over half of users were in the upper range of the limit of their credit card at the time of first BNPL use, according to figures cited in the new yStats.com market report.

BNPL service providers proliferate, challenging established global brands
As a result of an increased demand for BNPL services during the pandemic, major service providers such as Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm thrived in 2020, and continue doing so this year. These players significantly expanded their customer base amid COVID-19, and their revenues soared. Nevertheless, the net profits did not enjoy such growth, as most of them opted for new projects including launch of new services and further market expansion. Nevertheless, many local BNPL newcomers have emerged, and attracted significant capital investment, according to the yStats report.