Buy now, pay later: how can it work for my business?

The ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) phenomenon has taken the world by storm. Although the concept has existed for well over a decade, BNPL boomed during COVID due to the rise in financial instability and online shopping.

Promising businesses increased conversion rates, average order values, and repeat purchases, implementing BNPL seems like a no-brainer.

However, buy now, pay later solutions seem to work better for some businesses than others. In this article, find out whether BNPL is right for your business and which BNPL vendor to choose.

Buy now, pay later, or BNPL for short, is a form of financing that lets customers pay for something over time. It generally can be categorised into two types: invoicing and instalments.

Invoicing

The customer checks out without paying anything and needs to repay the full amount in 14-30 days. This is a zero interest option and most popular in Europe.

Instalments

The customer repays the balance in bi-weekly or monthly payments. For some BNPL solutions, a deposit is collected at time of purchase. This is most popular in North America.

Very simply, the customer makes a payment via a buy now, pay later payment method. The BNPL provider pays the merchant the full purchase amount. The customer then repays the BNPL provider either the full amount or in instalments.

On a more detailed level, a repayment works differently depending on if it’s classed as acredit loanor adeferred payable. With a credit loan, BNPL is accounted for as a customer loan. With a deferred payment the merchant buys an “I owe you” (IOU) from the BNPL provider. This dfference can affect the repayment terms for the customer and the contracting terms for the merchant.

BNPL providers have different terms and conditions on certain topics, including:

Offering a buy now, pay later solution can be advantageous, but it can work better for some businesses than others. Pinpointing exactly where a BNPL solution can help your business can ensure you see the benefits you expect. Below you can see how well your goal lines up with what a BNPL solution can offer.

If you have the resources available, and are unsure if a BNPL solution will benefit your business; test it out. A test run with an implemented BNPL solution can help to show whether it has the desired impact with your customers and resonates well with your audience. With Adyen, you can quickly turn on and off and test different payment methods through one integration.

The next step, once you’ve decided to implement a BNPL solution, is to pick one that fits best with your business.

BNPL solutions have different settlement delays and can impact different performance metrics like conversion rates, average transaction value (ATV), and authorisation rates. Adding new payment methods can also cannibalise existing ones. It's a good idea to monitor these metrics when you go live with a BNPL solution to understand the impact.

To give you an idea of the solutions out there, here are the most popular buy now, pay later companies globally:

Affirmpartners with over 6,000 retailers in the US across categories like apparel and accessories, beauty, home and lifestyle, and electronics. They offer flexible financing programmes for businesses of all sizes, from mass retailers to local shops.

Originally from Australia and known as Afterpay there, the US and Canada, in the UK, France, Italy and Spain it operates under the brandClearpay. It offers shoppers the option to pay in four interest-free instalments and promise high authorisation rates.

Atomeis available in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia with Adyen and is expected to expand into more countries soon. It supports both ecommerce and in-person (dynamic QR) payments. Merchants are settled in full upfront, while shoppers pay 0% interest instalments.

Klarnais one of the world’s largest buy now, pay later providers with strong brand recognition in the EU and growing presence in the US and APAC. Boasting over 140 millions users, Klarna accepts both one-off and recurring payments.

Zipis one of the main 'buy now, pay later' services across a number of countries including Australia, New Zealand, the United States (formerly QuadPay), and Canada. They provide interest-free purchases both online and in-person, as well as an open-loop virtual credit card solution in Australia.

With a buy now, pay later solution, the payment experience can become more seamless and draw new audiences. The BNPL market is still evolving with new solutions made on a country to country basis.

With a multitude of options available, it can be difficult to navigate the BNPL stage. Check out ourpayment method explorerto easily compare and choose a buy now, pay later solution fit for your business.