The idea of allowing consumers to pay for goods over a number of instalments is by no means a new invention. Layaway and instalment payments have been part of the financial and consumer landscape for decades. But now, after a slow process of modernisation, the payment method has been transformed, rebranded, and expanded to reach a much wider global demographic. And we call it Buy Now, Pay Later or BNPL.

While the pandemic has accelerated the uptake of BNPL, it has also raised valid questions about consumers’ true understanding of the products, their ability to afford what they are purchasing, and their likelihood to default.

In this report, we will delve deeper into the buy now, pay later market, weigh up its enormous ongoing potential, and provide you with the latest thinking and research on how the sector can continue to thrive, by taking a leadership role in making credit available to all.