The rise of e-commerce in India has been explosive over the last decade. As per IBEF, “In 2022, the Indian eCommerce market is predicted to increase by 21.5%, reaching US$ 74.8 billion. [While] India’s e-commerce market is expected to reach US$ 111 billion by 2024.“ It all reflects the growing financial power of consumers in the country. There are various factors contributing to it and among the latest is the wide adoption of the Buy Now Pay Later services in India.
Short for BNPL, some of the best pay later apps in India like LazyPay, offer interest-free payment for the purchase of a product or service. It's a smartly inclusive process of bringing more volume of transactions and adding the count of Indians making the transaction - ultimately leading to the nation's financial boost.
Below we explore how the best pay later apps in India are helping increase consumer purchase power. Before that, let’s kick off with an understanding of working of pay later services.
What are Pay Later Services
Pay later or Buy now, pay later, or BNPL is a type of small-ticket loan that enables between a consumer and a seller. Once you buy a product or service from a seller on the aggregator’s platform, you use the BNPL provider to pay at checkout. The due amount is to be repaid over a stipulated time. The remaining payment can be made via debit, credit card, UPI, online banking, etc.
Wider Access to Online Markets and Services
BNPL checkout options are becoming more common among leading e-commerce sites and other popular service providers for food delivery, groceries, rides, etc. While paying the price in interest-free repayments is anyways more sensible, cards, UPI, and cash on delivery modes of payment cannot compete with the offers that come with pay later services. This has led to a rise in online shopping and ordering among the populace boosting both supply and demand across India.
Boost to High Covid-impacted Sectors
The impact of Covid is still lingering on all of us - individuals and businesses - and possibly will for a long time. Among the most hit industries were travel and hospitality. While the government and the service providers themselves are doing their best to welcome consumers for a safe and memorable experience, pay later services like Lazypay is also enabling to alleviate the affordability among Indians.
With popular agencies in this industry like MakeMyTrip, ixigo, RedBus, OYO, etc. adopting the BNPL checkout, their customers are more willing to take trips after long lockdown phases. Thus contributing to the faster recovery of these sectors.
Credit Score Building for Future
Indians, in general, are credit averse. However, we all know how helpful it is to get loans from banks for various life milestones and emergencies. But for many, a poor credit score becomes a major hurdle to getting loans in the first place. Especially true for young people who are new earners with little to no credit history.
Pay later services in India are bound to change. This is because they are accessible to all even without credit history while their usage impacts the credit score. The more you purchase, and make timely repayments, the better it reflects on your credit score. Thus offering all individuals a great avenue to build and improve their credit score for the future.
Smart Financial Management Among Gen-Z
A nation’s financial stability is in the collective understanding and habits related to the financial management of its people and especially the younger generation. With Gen-Z becoming smarter with their own finances using pay later services in India, it looks promising. And as the penetration of these services increases every day, more youth are transacting online and thus contributing to the Indian economy.
Final Thoughts
Traditionally, we have been paying money for whatever services or products we use right away. This way we could only transact if instant affordability was possible. The introduction of credit cards enabled us to do more with our income. But the entry barrier and high-interest fee kept many of us from using it even after being eligible. However, with the advent of the pay later service in India, the financial power of everyday citizens has increased manifold. The convenience of online transactions, credit score building, and extending monthly budget with smart financial planning with the best pay later apps in India is working great and will continue to do so.
If you have been missing out on BNPL, sign up on LazyPay to get started today with ₹1,200 of welcome voucher without any credit score!