‘Buy now, pay later’ set to surge over ten-fold in India

India’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) industry is booming and set to surge over ten-fold within four years as tens of millions of online shoppers get lured by interest-free credit with fewer hassles, market players told Reuters.

Redseer estimates India’s BNPL market will rocket to $45-50 billion by 2026 from $3-3.5 billion now. The research firm also estimates that the number of BNPL users in the country may rise to 80 to 100 million customers by then, from 10 to 15 million currently.

However, since the maximum credit currently being offered on BNPL is Rs 1,00,000 ($1,347.89), much lower than credit card offers, it will take some time before it can disrupt the cards market or wrest market share, said analysts at Macquarie Research.