5 FinTech Platforms advancing the BNPL landscape in India

By Gloria Mathias

Buy Now, Pay Later, or BNPL, is revolutionising the way customers make purchases online and even in-store by making payments more flexible and convenient for shoppers. BNPL is an alternative payment method that enables customers to make immediate financial purchases and pay them back in fixed installments over time.

According to a report by IBS Intelligence, BNPL payments in India are expected to grow by 89.5% on an annual basis to reach $6927.4 million. The medium to the long-term growth story of the industry in India remains strong. The Buy Now, Pay Later payment adoption is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 54.3% from 2022 to 2028. The BNPL gross merchandise value in the country will increase from $3656.3 million in 2021 to $93509.1 million by 2028.

With over a billion consumers and a large credit-averse population, BNPL is expected to disrupt the payments sector in India. Moreover, as the BNPL market in India continues to record strong growth over the next few quarters, it is expected that more global firms to expand their footprint in the country. This will subsequently lead to more strategic partnerships and merger and acquisition deals from the short to medium-term perspective.

Listed below are 5 FinTech platforms offering BNPL options in India:

• axio

axio, formerly called Capital Float, is a consumer finance company offering pay-later, credit, and personal finance management under one seamless brand experience. axio leverages technology to deliver financial products to millions of individuals across the country, including vast sections of traditionally underserved consumers, with a mission to make credit worthy for all.

• ePayLater

Founded in December 2015 and based in Mumbai, India, ePaylater is a zero-cost credit solution for SMEs to purchase their supplies. This solution is available to SMEs across physical and digital sales channels and empowers them to purchase inventory across product categories at the best available prices without being constrained for credit.

• Freo

Freo Pay is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) app that allows users to shop and pay later. Users can get up to ₹10,000 from Freo Pay to shop anywhere in India and pay back after 30 days. Freo is a digital banking platform and India’s credit-led neobank. Freo’s apps are available in multiple languages The company has partnered with banks and NBFCs to offer mobile-based lending.

• Flexmoney

Flexmoney is a digital credit infrastructure that allows banks and NBFCs to offer instant, cardless point-of-sale credit to their customers. Flexmoney aims to scale its credit network footprint to many more lenders and merchants, launch multiple additional products, and consolidate its position as the leading digital credit and BNPL infrastructure in India.

• slice

Slice is a digital lending platform that offers credit cards, UPI payments, and prepaid banking accounts. Slice also offers loans of up to Rs 5 lakh with flexible repayment options. Slice’s credit cards are aimed at young consumers with little to no credit history. The cards can be used for daily payments and can be converted into Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) at no extra cost. Slice’s BNPL offering has been turned into a credit card-like PPI product with no interest, annual charges, or late fees.