Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) vs. Credit Card
BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) has today provided retailers and customers with a wide range of opportunities. When it was nearly hard for consumers to buy goods and services in one payment, consumer financing gave them options. Most of the time, consumers were unable to apply for credit cards, but now that BNPL lending is much easier to qualify for, customers can make the purchases they need.
What is BNPL
You have undoubtedly seen a variety of By Now Pay Later consumer credit alternatives if you shop online. Many Fintech businesses provide their clients with lending services. Splitting a payment over time is not a new concept, but e-commerce has reimagined it and improved it to make it more appealing and easier for people to shop online.
Large tech companies like Apple are now offering Buy Now Pay Later lending services to make it easier for their customers to purchase Apple products and generate more revenue. In addition to Fintech companies, some large businesses also offered shop now pay later services. For a while, even Amazon offered this option.
BNPL financing is softer than other conventional credit choices, which has the effect of generally having less of an impact on credit scores, making loan applications simpler and enforcing fewer requirements. All of these factors increase the customer appeal of BNPL loan services, which makes them the fastest-growing consumer financing solutions. By 2030, the BNPL market is anticipated to reach $3268.2 billion. However, on top of all the benefits, it may bring, people are concerned about the risks BNPL may have.
Risks and Regulations
Regulators are concerned about BNPL usage’s explosive growth. To ensure that US consumers remain protected, the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) has increased its activity this year. More reports are being published about the dangers of BNPL lending and consumer lending in general. According to their announcement, new regulations are going to go into effect, ensuring that Fintech businesses are operating legally on the American market.
The CFPB and other international regulators are concerned that the popularity of BNPL may carry significant dangers and result in a mountain of unpaid debts or poor credit histories for Gen Zers and Millennials who utilize consumer finance the most.
Increase of Payment Options
Various consumer finance choices are still emerging on the market, providing consumers opportunities to use the credit in more comfortable ways, even as regulators discuss the risks of consumer financing and announce forthcoming rules. Currently, the following choices are in demand:
1. Mobile Payments
Mobile payments have grown increasingly popular among consumers, just like the BNPL choices. The answer is simple: Shopping is considerably simpler when you can buy items and pay for them with a single click on your mobile device. Different apps, such as Apple Pay, or mobile payment options that are integrated into e-commerce websites, such as Shopify’s Shoppay, One Touch by PayPal, or white label services from ChargeAfter’s global lending platform, which integrates its financing platform on retailer’s online stores, are available.
2. Chat Commerce
The use of chatbots by businesses on various websites has increased in recent years, making it simpler for customers to seek assistance with payments without having to call customer support. It provides us with a forecast for further advancements in AI payments in the future.
3. SMS Payments
The use of SMS payments has grown significantly, and it’s likely that merchants like them because they’re convenient for customers, prevent cart abandonment, and increase conversion rates for businesses.
Data Analytics for Marketing
Different consumer data are being used by fintech companies, who are dominating the BNPL loan market, to improve performance. In what ways, then, may client data benefit financing companies?
First, based on consumer data, businesses may develop personas for their customers, which makes it much simpler to plan future shopping experiences that are more relevant to the customer.
One of the key benefits is that the merchants can run far more precise and targeted advertising campaigns. It also allows retailers to modify prices in accordance with the most recent data.
By the end of 2021, the CFPB had made the tech companies provide the data due to the widespread use of data-driven marketing.
BNPL and Traditional Financing Services
During the Covid 19 epidemic, Buy Now Pay Later has attained its highest level of popularity. Consumer use of BNPL financing increased, which negatively impacted the availability of other conventional loan services. The majority of them lost a sizable portion of their clientele. Consumers prefer BNPL lending over installment loans and credit cards due to the comfortability and significantly easier financing experience. Traditional services have some benefits of their own. Therefore, we can claim that BNPL consumer finance is the main competitor for the most widely used product of traditional banks.
Buy Now Pay Later Versus Credit Cards
BNPL is becoming more and more well-known as a credit card substitute, especially among younger customers. Younger generations frequently avoid using credit cards because they are afraid of going into credit, opting instead to use the convenient BNPL option. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages, so before purchasing out of the blue, buyers should consider the benefits and weaknesses of each.
Many customers began using BNPL services as a result of the rise in online buying during the Covid-19 pandemic and the demand for convenience. Particularly when well-known financing platforms like ChargeAfter, AfterPay, or Affirm are providing excellent BNPL services to them. For instance, ChargeAfter’s global lending platform is integrated into the websites of various retailers, providing customers with furniture financing, mattress financing, and many other financing options. On top of that, ChargeAfter charges no fees to its customers, further enhancing the appeal of the financing platform for those customers. ChargeAfter can offer BNPL services to any customer with the support of the many lenders on the platform.
With all these characteristics, it should go without saying that BNPL lending has drawn more customers in recent years. However, not all financing platforms have the best features, and on top of that, credit cards have their advantages as well. Using a credit card can occasionally be even more convenient, particularly when buying groceries or gas. As a result, many customers still use credit cards, and the same is true of the BNPL. However, if any form of consumer financing is employed without consideration, it could have a negative impact on the customers’ credit history. Therefore, you should weigh all the benefits and drawbacks before employing any of them.
Summary
In conclusion, BNPL’s consumer financing alternatives and credit cards both have a sizable clientele. However, it would be accurate to state that Buy Now Pay Later underwent a significant development throughout the previous years. We may expect that banks won’t be able to compete with global lending platforms like ChargeAfter by relying solely on credit cards or installment loans because financing platforms are taking the customer base from established institutions. To compete in the consumer finance industry, banks began implementing BNPL white label services from various Fintech startups, to stay on top of the consumer financing sector, together with newly born Fintech companies, which already established their names on the market.
About ChargeAfter
ChargeAfter is a leading multi-lender platform for Buy Now pay later (BNPL) Consumer Financing. It connects businesses with the most reliable lenders, enabling them to offer customers the greatest financing solutions. With the best system of Waterfall Financing, ChargeAfter guarantees BNPL lending to every shopper, by matching the most relevant lender to every client. Using the unique consumer financing technology, ChargeAfter provides all parties, merchants, lenders, and consumers, with the best shopping experience. Phoenix, MUFG, VISA, Bradesco, BBVA, Synchrony, PICO Partners, CITI, Propel Venture Partners, Plug and Play, and other companies worldwide are among the investors of ChargeAfter.
