Buy now pay later is expected to account for 4.1 percent share of Asia Pacific e-commerce payments value in 2026, and the staggered payment method becomes an increasingly popular option among online shoppers in the region.
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According to GlobalData’s ‘E-commerce Analytics’ reports, BNPL accounted for 1.6 percent of the e-commerce payments in 2022 in the APAC region, proving popular in Australia and New Zealand. Looking ahead, BNPL is gradually gaining traction in other APAC markets as well, pushed on by the Covid-19 pandemic. More recently, a surge in inflation has adversely affected consumers’ disposable income in the region, and consequently, the demand for short-term financing solutions is on the rise.
As a result, BNPL has emerged as a viable payment option for consumers, who do not have access to traditional credit options such as a credit card, allowing them to pay for purchases conveniently at later dates in instalments, according to the data and analytics company.
“BNPL payment solutions are gradually strengthening their presence in the region’s e-commerce market supported by the proliferation of BNPL service providers, accelerated demand for flexible payments, and consumers’ gradual shift from offline to online channel,” Shivani Gupta, Senior Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData.
By market, the BNPL share of e-commerce payments in Australia is estimated at 20 percent in 2022, while it is 12.5 percent in New Zealand. Afterpay, the leading BNPL brand in Australia, serves over 20 million customers. Elsewhere, other Asian markets are also catching up, with countries like Singapore, India and Japan now seeing high adoption of BNPL services.
India has seen the fastest jump in BNPL share in the region, which increased from 0.1 percent of e-commerce sales in 2019 to 3.2 percent in 2021 and is expected to account for more than 5 percent in 2022.
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“The use of BNPL services is poised for high growth in Asia with consumers shifting to online shopping and growing number of online merchants accepting BNPL brands,” Shivani concluded.