Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Business and Investment Opportunities Databook - 90+ KPIs on BNPL Market Size, End-Use Sectors, Market Share, Product Analysis, Business Model, Demographics - Q1 2026 Update

Key Trends and Drivers

Regulatory regimes are repositioning BNPL as mainstream consumer credit

• Across the Asia-Pacific, BNPL is moving under mainstream consumer credit or digital lending rules rather than remaining in a grey zone. Australia has enacted the Responsible Buy Now Pay Later reforms: from June 2025, anyone offering BNPL must hold a credit licence and comply with modified responsible-lending obligations, effectively treating BNPL like other regulated credit products.
• In Singapore, MAS does not yet license BNPL as credit, but all major providers (Grab, Atome, ShopBack, etc.) have been independently accredited under an industry BNPL Code of Conduct since May 2024, with an oversight committee monitoring compliance.
• Indonesia’s OJK has updated rules for financing companies and digital financing (including PayLater), tightening licensing, capital, and conduct requirements. In India, BNPL-type players are brought under broader digital lending oversight through the RBI’s master directions and a proposed law targeting illegal digital lending.
• The rising use of BNPL for everyday purchases and recurring bills has heightened concerns about over-indebtedness, fee transparency, and collection practices. Consumer-protection agencies and central banks in Australia, India, Indonesia, and Singapore are responding to complaints about opaque digital lending and aggressive recovery practices and want BNPL to follow the same playbook as credit cards and personal loans. Incumbent banks have lobbied for a “level playing field” in which non-bank BNPL providers bear similar compliance costs when offering instalment credit at scale.
• Compliance and underwriting costs for BNPL providers will increase in Australia and Indonesia as credit licensing, affordability checks, and disclosures become mandatory; smaller pure-play BNPL fintechs may exit or partner with licensed lenders. In Singapore and India, industry codes and digital-lending rules will push platforms (Grab, Atome, Amazon Pay, Flipkart Finance, fintech NBFCs) toward bureau checks, clearer APR disclosure and stronger collections oversight, narrowing the gap with regulated consumer loans.
• Over time, BNPL in the Asia-Pacific is likely to be viewed as a credit product category within the regulated system, rather than an alternative to it, which will favour players with high risk, compliance, and funding capabilities.

Super-apps, wallets and large platforms are embedding BNPL into everyday payment journeys

• BNPL is increasingly delivered as a feature inside super-apps and digital wallets, rather than as a standalone checkout button. In Southeast Asia, Grab’s PayLater is integrated into its ride-hailing, food delivery and ecommerce services; the company highlights consumer lending (including PayLater) as a growth driver in its 2024 results, and has introduced longer tenors for selected users in Malaysia and Singapore.
• Indonesia’s GoTo offers GoPayLater across Tokopedia and ShopTokopedia, with the BNPL loan book a key contributor to the group’s fintech revenue and loan growth. In Japan, PayPay has become a dominant QR-code wallet and is extending into instalment and deferred-payment features via PayPay Card’s “Later Installment” service. In South Korea, super-apps like Kakao Pay and Toss are central to mobile payments; their ecosystems now sit at the core of everyday digital transactions and are gradually linking with cross-border wallets such as PayPay and Alipay+.
• In India, Amazon (via its acquisition of Axio) and Flipkart Finance plan to offer embedded instalment and BNPL-style products directly within their ecommerce and merchant ecosystems. Super-apps and large ecommerce platforms see credit as a way to lift order frequency and average transaction sizes without pushing users to external lenders.
• Wallet operators possess rich behavioural data across ride-hailing, food, commerce and bill payments, enabling more granular risk scoring than single-merchant BNPL providers. For consumers, using BNPL through a familiar wallet (GrabPay, GoPay, PayPay, Kakao Pay) reduces friction compared to signing up for multiple third-party BNPL apps.
• Ecosystem BNPL will become the dominant model in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, with credit increasingly tied to loyalty, rewards, and cross-product usage across platforms like Grab, GoTo, PayPay, and Kakao Pay. Traditional standalone BNPL apps may struggle to acquire customers unless they specialise in particular verticals (e.g., travel, healthcare) or partner deeply with banks.
• Competition between big tech (Amazon, Flipkart, GoTo, Grab) and local banks will intensify as both sides use embedded instalments to defend their share of consumer lending.

BNPL is broadening into offline, everyday and high-ticket spending

• BNPL in Asia-Pacific is moving beyond online fashion and electronics into offline retail, mobility, services and higher-value purchases. In Australia, Amazon Australia started accepting Afterpay in 2025, adding to its longstanding support for Zip. This aligns Afterpay with large marketplaces in addition to its existing networks at major retailers like Myer and JB Hi-Fi.
• Grab PayLater is actively used for transport and food-delivery orders, and has introduced 8- and 12-month plans in markets like Malaysia, supporting larger ticket purchases. In Indonesia, GoPayLater is embedded across Tokopedia and ShopTokopedia, while Shopee PayLater offers instalments directly inside the Shopee app; academic work and legal commentary now treat these pay-later products as recognised forms of consumer financing.
• In Japan, PayPay has raised the maximum payment amount for high-value QR transactions, supporting the use of QR-based payments (and related instalment features) across larger retail and service categories. Merchants in electronics, home improvement, auto accessories and healthcare are looking for lighter-weight alternatives to traditional point-of-sale finance; BNPL at checkout or via QR wallets fits this need.
• Consumers across Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan are comfortable with QR and wallet-based payments; layering instalments on top of established usage patterns is operationally straightforward for players like Afterpay, Grab, GoPay and PayPay. For platforms, extending BNPL to offline and higher-value spends increases fee pools per user and deepens merchant relationships.
• The mix of BNPL volumes in Asia-Pacific is likely to tilt further toward omnichannel and higher-ticket use cases: in-store electronics, travel, healthcare and education, especially in Australia, Japan and large ASEAN markets.
• BNPL players that can support both small everyday transactions (rides, food) and big-ticket instalments on the same platform (e.g., Grab, GoTo, PayPay) will be well-positioned relative to mono-segment specialists. In parallel, regulators will watch closely where BNPL touches essential services (healthcare, education, utilities), which may trigger more targeted rules in markets such as Australia and Indonesia.

Business models are tightening risk and pivoting toward sustainable economics

• BNPL operators across the Asia-Pacific are shifting focus from sheer volume growth to risk-controlled, profitable lending, often in partnership with banks. In India, RBI’s new master directions on digital lending, along with tighter rules on default-loss guarantees, are forcing fintech-NBFC partnerships (including BNPL-style products) to reassess risk-sharing, provisioning and collections.
• The Indian government’s draft law against illegal digital lending seeks to ban unlicensed lenders and impose prison terms and fines, adding pressure on lightly regulated BNPL-type lenders to regularise their status. In Indonesia, OJK’s revised financing company and digital-financing rules, together with new licensing norms for alternative credit-scoring firms, are pushing paylater providers to formalise scoring models, capital buffers and governance.
• Super-apps like Grab and GoTo now emphasise that their fintech arms (including PayLater and GoPayLater) are contributing positively to EBITDA, supported by tighter underwriting and bank partnerships (e.g., Bank Jago for GoTo). Rising credit losses in early BNPL cohorts and macro headwinds have limited investor appetite for subsidised growth, pushing management teams to prioritise sustainable unit economics.
• Regulators in India, Indonesia and Australia explicitly want clearer risk ownership between fintechs and regulated lenders, reducing opaque guarantees and off-balance-sheet risk transfers. Bank partnerships allow BNPL and paylater providers to scale lending using bank balance sheets, while fintechs focus on acquisition, UX, and risk analytics.
• Underwriting will become more selective in India and Indonesia, with BNPL offers more closely tied to income, repayment history and platform behaviour, rather than near-universal approval. Some sub-scale or highly leveraged BNPL players in Australia and Southeast Asia may exit, consolidate or reposition as white-label technology providers to banks and merchants, while larger ecosystems (Grab, GoTo, PayPay) deepen bank linkages. For merchants and consumers, BNPL will still be available, but approval rates, credit limits and fee structures are likely to be more differentiated by risk segment, rather than uniformly generous.

Competitive Landscape

Current State of the Market

• Diverse regulatory regimes and strong competition from super-apps, ecommerce platforms, and banks shape BNPL in the Asia-Pacific. Australia remains the region’s most developed BNPL market, where regulatory reforms require providers to operate under a credit licensing framework, prompting players to revisit underwriting models. Southeast Asia is dominated by platform BNPL embedded into Grab, GoTo, Shopee and Lazada, while Japan and South Korea see BNPL integrated into wallet ecosystems such as PayPay and Kakao Pay. India is shifting toward regulated digital credit, where e-commerce-linked lenders (Amazon Pay, Flipkart Finance) and NBFC-backed fintechs compete in instalment-based products.

Key Players and New Entrants

• Large regional ecosystems Grab PayLater, GoPayLater, Shopee PayLater, and PayPay serve as the primary BNPL access points in Southeast and Northeast Asia. In Australia, Afterpay and Zip maintain strong merchant networks, while banks are expanding instalment capabilities through card-linked BNPL features. India has seen new moves from Amazon (through its acquisition of Axio) and Flipkart Finance, both of which are preparing to scale credit on their platforms. Cross-border wallets such as Alipay+ and PayPay are also expanding acceptance across Asia, indirectly extending their BNPL-linked services.

Recent Launches, Mergers, and Acquisitions

• Amazon Australia enabled BNPL payments through Afterpay in 2025, strengthening Afterpay’s reach beyond fashion and electronics. Grab expanded PayLater features with longer tenors in Malaysia and Singapore. In India, Amazon’s acquisition of Axio signals deeper integration of instalment products inside ecommerce journeys. In Japan, PayPay has increased transaction limits for high-value QR payments, supporting deferred payment expansion. Several markets, particularly Indonesia and Australia, have seen BNPL providers adjust business structures to comply with new financing and licensing rules.

This is a bundled offering, combining the following 16 reports, covering 900+ tables and 1,300+ figures for the Buy Now Pay Later Market:

Report Scope

Asia-Pacific Retail Industry & Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast

• Retail Industry - Spend Value Trend Analysis
• Buy Now Pay Later Share of Retail Industry
• Ecommerce - Spend Value Trend Analysis
• Buy Now Pay Later Share of Ecommerce

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Market Size and Industry Attractiveness

• Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
• Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Market Share Analysis by Key Players

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Revenue Analysis

• Buy Now Pay Later Revenues
• Buy Now Pay Later Share by Revenue Segments
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Merchant Commission
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Missed Payment Fee Revenue
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Pay Now & Other Income

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Operational KPIs

• Buy Now Pay Later Active Consumer Base
• Buy Now Pay Later Bad Debt

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Business Model

• Two-Party Business Model
• Third-Party Business Model

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Purpose

• Convenience
• Credit

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Merchant Ecosystem

• Open Loop System
• Closed Loop System

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Distribution Model

• Standalone
• Banks & Payment Service Providers
• Marketplaces

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Channel

• Online Channel
• POS Channel

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later By End-Use Sector: Market Size and Forecast

• Retail Shopping
• Home Improvement
• Travel
• Media and Entertainment
• Services
• Automotive
• Health Care and Wellness
• Others

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later By Retail Product Category: Market Size and Forecast

• Apparel, Footwear & Accessories
• Consumer Electronics
• Toys, Kids, and Babies
• Jewelry
• Sporting Goods
• Entertainment & Gaming
• Other

Asia-Pacific Buy Now Pay Later Analysis by Consumer Attitude and Behaviour

• Spend Share by Age Group
• Spend Share by Default Rate by Age Group
• Spend Share by Income
• Gross Merchandise Value Share by Gender
• Adoption Rationale
• Spend by Monthly Expense Segments
• Average Number of Transactions per User Annually
• BNPL Users as a Percentage of Total Adult Population

Reasons to Buy

• Strategic and Innovation Insights: Gain clarity on the future direction of Asia-Pacific's Buy Now Pay Later market by analysing strategic initiatives, business model evolution, and innovation-led approaches adopted by key BNPL providers to strengthen market positioning.
• Comprehensive Understanding of BNPL Market Dynamics in Asia-Pacific: Assess market size, growth outlook, and structural shifts across retail and e-commerce, supported by detailed segmentation by channel, business model, distribution model, merchant ecosystem, end-use sector, and consumer demographics, underpinned by 90+ KPIs.
• Value and Volume-Based KPIs for Market Accuracy: Leverage a robust set of value and volume KPIs, including GMV, average transaction value, transaction volume, active users, revenue, and bad debt, to develop a precise understanding of BNPL adoption, usage intensity, and market maturity.
• Competitive Landscape Assessment: Obtain a clear snapshot of the BNPL competitive landscape in Asia-Pacific, including market share analysis of leading providers, enabling informed benchmarking and evaluation of market concentration and competitive intensity.
• Actionable Inputs for Market Entry and Expansion Strategies: Identify high-growth categories, priority end-use sectors, and distribution channels to fine-tune go-to-market and partnership strategies, while assessing key trends, regulatory considerations, and risk factors shaping the BNPL ecosystem.
• In-Depth Consumer Behaviour Analysis: Enhance ROI by understanding evolving consumer attitudes and spending behaviour, with insights into BNPL adoption drivers, usage frequency, income and age-based usage patterns, gender splits, and monthly expense segmentation.