Top 10 Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Providers Worldwide
Another BNPL fintech targeting the MENA region is Tabby – this time based out of Dubai. It describes itself as a “buy now, pay later” solution that allows customers to defer purchases over four, interest-free monthly installments.
Last year, Tabby reached 3 million active customers and increased revenues fivefold compared to the previous year. It has also issued more than 150,000 Tabby cards since the launch of the card program, and in-store sales now account for over 10% of the company’s volume. MENA is obviously an attractive investment market for BNPL, as Tabby, like Tamara, has also secured recent funding: in January, UAE-based BNPL fintech secured $58 million in a Series C round.
Most BNPL services are only useful and convenient for customers because they allow them to spread the cost of high-ticket items – and LatitudePay allows them to spread it over more installments than most providers on our list so far. With the Singapore-headquartered fintech, customers can spread the cost over 10 equal payments, meaning they don’t have to worry as much about their bank balance being depleted in one go. Latitude claims customers can get up and running in minutes, and it charges no interest on any of the payment installments.
One of the industry titans on our list, San Francisco-based Affirm has made a name for itself as one of the leading BNPL suppliers in recent years. A fintech trailblazer, Max Levchin, CEO and founder of Affirm, has built a formidable BNPL empire: in January 2021, the company went public, doubling its valuation from USD 12 billion to USD 24 billion. To date, it has also raised around $1.5 billion from investors.
Affirm offers customers the choice of paying in four fortnightly installments or spreading the cost over monthly repayments – an option that’s useful for higher-ticket items. Since the pandemic, it has moved to become a “remote-first” employer, giving employees the flexibility and freedom to work from home while still maintaining brick-and-mortar offices in five major US cities – which could prove to be a lifeline, especially for younger workers.
Klarna, arguably the poster child of Europe’s BNPL sector, has been on the move in recent years. Initially, seismic success propelled it to a value of more than $40 billion, before challenging economic conditions forced it to cut 10% of its workforce and face the prospect of a recession in many of its key markets. That lofty valuation soon dropped to a more modest $6 billion.
Based in Stockholm and led by founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna has begun to refocus on the future of its business with renewed optimism, rolling out a price comparison tool in three European markets in a bid to lure back cash-strapped consumers. the fold.
Afterpay is another indicator of the success of Australia’s fintech ecosystem, with no fewer than four Antipodean BNPL firms on this list alone. Afterpay was founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Nick Molner and his neighbor, investor Anthony Eisen. In a rollercoaster nine years, the business has gone from strength to strength – delivering the kind of success that would make Molnar Australia’s youngest billionaire and culminate in a big-money sale.
Payment in arrears allows customers to spread the cost of goods over six interest-free instalments. Inspired by affordability issues plaguing the sector, the company imposes spending limits that only increase gradually as customers pay back on time. Today, the Melbourne-based BNPL pioneer employs nearly 1,000 people and boasts millions of active consumers. In 2021, it was bought out by Jack Dorsey’s payments company, Block, for $29 billion.
