Buy now pay later news and advice

Looking to spread the cost of your Christmas shopping this year? Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) could be your answer. In fact, if used correctly, BNPL can be a way to reduce how much you spend upfront and allows you to budget as you pay off the rest of what you owe in regular instalments. And there are plenty of platforms to choose from. Whether it’s Afterpay, Zip, Klarna or Humm (to mention a few), there are a whole bunch of retailers that allow you to use these types of services to buy Christmas gifts now and pay for them later. It’s important to note though, these platforms aren’t completely cost-free. The truth is, some come with a monthly fee attached to them and often charge late payment costs if you miss or delay an instalment. 

New research from Mambu has revealed that Australians have the highest uptake of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services. 

Today, ANZ Bank announced that it will add a buy now pay later (BNPL) service, supported by Visa, to its offerings.

As we head into October, the jolly road to Christmas is drawing into focus. And what goes hand in hand with the holidays? Gift shopping. Whether you get your Christmas shopping in early with sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, or you leave it to later on, now might be the time to sort out what payment method you’ll use. The key of course is making sure you don’t end up knee deep in Christmas debt, so planning early and setting a budget is always a good idea. With that in mind, one popular payment method to consider might be Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). Mozo's 2021 Buy Now Pay Later Report found that over half of BNPL users are turning away from traditional banking options and 42% have been using BNPL for three or more years.So the question is… why might you opt for BNPL this Christmas? We’ve broken it down into three key reasons:  

‘Get cover, pay later’ is the slogan of the new Buy Now Pay Later provider Coverpay. It is the latest in a string of newly launched BNPL service providers that promise Australians access to services, without having to pay the full amount, upfront.

Today, payments giant Mastercard announced a new Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) program. Challenging the likes of BNPL big players such as Afterpay, Zip, Klarna and humm as well as big banks like CommBank, Suncorp and Citi (who each offer their own BNPL options), Mastercard claims to be shaking things up. And that’s with its new program ‘Mastercard Installments’. “At the heart of it, payments come down to choice – and people want more from their money with greater flexibility and control in how they pay and where they shop,” said Mastercard’s chief product officer, Craig Vosburg. “Mastercard Installments has been built on our guiding principles to protect consumers and enable choice without sacrificing trust and security. It is a digital-focused way to pay today and tomorrow, delivered through consumer’s most trusted relationships with their banks and other lenders, at merchants of their choice.”

Today, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) giant Afterpay has announced a new feature to be launched for customers: ‘Retro’. With Retro, Afterpay users can retrospectively decide to pay off a transaction they've made in four instalments using BNPL - which the platform claims is a world-first. But there are some conditions … The feature will be launched soon with the Money by Afterpay app, a payment platform backed by major bank Westpac. The app will offer BNPL options, a daily transaction account and debit card, as well as up to 15 savings accounts - all in one place.  “As we continue building out the Money experience, we’re creating a platform for customers to change the way they think about their money,” Afterpay executive vice president, new platforms, Lee Hatton said. “The integration of BNPL and now Retro will give customers a one-stop app for their money management, allowing them to be more in control of their money than ever before. Customers can forgo salary advance apps or overdraft facilities in favour of a single solution that doesn’t charge fees. We’re excited to announce this first Afterpay superpower and look forward to sharing more as we get closer to launch.”Essentially, this means that the Retro feature will only be able to be used on transactions made using Afterpay’s in-app Money debit card.   Plus, it’s only available for up to $200 of a customers’ Afterpay account limit. So say a customer has an Afterpay limit of $1,000, $200 can be used for Retro and the remaining $800 can be used for regular Afterpay transactions. On top of that, customers will only be able to use Retro on purchases made up to 72 hours prior. 

Right now in Australia there are plenty of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platforms available, from services like Afterpay, Zip, Humm and Klarna to specialised options such as BrightePay.  But when it comes to choosing the right BNPL, what features should you look for? What sets each platform apart? Well, it all depends on what you value and how you intend to spend. According to Mozo’s 2021 Buy Now Pay Later Report, there are a bunch of features BNPL users deem as important. For example, 46% of BNPL customers say that the ease of using the platform is the most important feature. Meanwhile, 44% value no account keeping fees, 42% prioritise the amount of repayments purchases are split into and 40% consider the availability of certain BNPL platforms in stores. “It makes sense that Buy Now Pay Later customers consider things like ease of use, fees, repayments and availability in stores before signing up with a particular platform,” Mozo spokesperson, Tom Godfrey says. “But it doesn’t stop there. Mozo’s research found that Aussie shoppers are also weighing up things like spending limits, the returns process and whether or not they are charged anything on the spot when making a purchase using Buy Now Pay Later.”  With that in mind, take a look at our full rundown of what the stats showed about how customers value BNPL features …

Today, Suncorp Bank has announced that it is broadening its services with a new Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) offering, PayLater.

Are you an avid online shopper? Then you’re probably familiar with PayPal as a simple way to pay for your purchases without having to enter your card information.