What Are The Pros And Cons Of Buying Now And Paying Later?

By Nathan Young on March 27, 2022

When a consumer buys a product, they need to complete the payment right away to that shop or business in our contemporary world. As there is so much competition in the market, along with financial downturns, it affects the purchasing power of the consumers.

That’s why the businesses needed to develop some creative ideas, which helped retain or increase their sales. Among some unique ideas, the most effective scheme is the buy now pay later policy.

This type of deal seems very attractive to customers. Because through this buy now pay later payment option, they can buy products while they wait for their next payday.

How does this process work?

According to many surveys’ reports, this payment process can increase Individuals’ business by 39%. The working steps of this payment method are mentioned below –

If the customer shops for an item on an online platform, they need to check out if this payment method is available or not.
At checkout, if the seller displays the accepted payment methods, including buying now paying later.
Then the customer needs to sign up or log in to their BNPL provider platform.
The BNPL provider helps assess the customer’s credit risk and conducts other Know their Customer (KYC) processes.
If customers are satisfied with the deal, the provider approves the credit.
After that, the seller will deliver the product to that customer.
Based on their agreement dates, the consumer must make full payments to their buy now pay later provider.

What are the pros or advantages of buy now & pay later methods?

There are lots of advantages in the buy now & pay later methods. Here are a few major advantages of now and pay later methods:

Buy now pay later is the highly powerful and custom-made solution for payment. This is a technology that helps the consumers to target the accurate payment method. And this is very easy to use. For instance, it has a QR code method that scans and makes the payment, and UPI (Unified Payment Interface) is also available for purchasing. Buy now pay later is interest-free and fee-free also. But if you don’t miss any payment till then, it’s very good. In addition, some providers earn money through commission from the merchants they charge.
If you use this, buy now and pay later with the responsibility that means you can afford the product you borrow to repay and make the payment in time. You use this technology well; your credit score will also be expanded.
Through the BNPL payment facility, the consumers who have a bad credit score can get privileges from it. This procedure doesn’t do enormous credit searches; they operate a software of the credit scores, not hamper the consumer’s credit score.
Buy now pay later works as a during purchase payment option. It provides the consumers with a better shopping experience and allows them instant credit preferences while buying. Some providers will allow you to get credit in less than a minute. For example, BNPL is the best preference for consumers.
This buy now pay later option is to offer the consumers the credit and pay it later either in installment or in a one-off payment. This means if the consumers still don’t have money right now, they can purchase what they want to. Installment makes a smooth payment option in the buy now pay later method.

The disadvantages or cons of the buy now pay later method:

All the things have a positive side and a negative side also, this applicable in buy now pay later option. After having a lot of positive sides, there are some opposing sides also. Those are –

In this buy now pay later method, if you make the payment, not in time, the provider will report your behavior to the credit reference bureau. This will damage your credit score, and in the future, you have to face many issues in approving credit again. So, if you think you can’t afford it, don’t buy it.
If you do not maintain a good financial discipline on buy now pay later, they will immerse you in impulse purchasing. The buy now pay later option is an illusion; it will feel like you can buy anything and afford what you want. It will push you too deep into this technology. Purchasing beauty products, health, and clothing may look not that costly, but this small item added a high cost.
If you thoroughly follow the catalog of buy now pay later, then it will tell you that you won’t be charged any fees, but the truth is if you don’t pay the money timely you have to face a big penalty for it.
You won’t get any cashback or reward for your purchases; now pay later.
If I buy now, pay later, sometimes it isn’t easy to track the payment.
Other cons of this method are that sometimes you return the credit, but the payment will continue. In this case, you have to face a loss in this method.

Buy Now, Pay Later Finance – Is It Regulated by FCA:

FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) is the body which gets mandated by the regulations of the financial firms or services. The BNPL providers are not regulated currently by the FCA. But the regulatory body has been pushing to have the proper credit offerings which are covered by the rules. As per the FCA, it is easier to build upon the debts easily of £1000 +

Conclusion:

This is a very convenient payment method for customers. So finally, the bottom line is buying now pays later, which means you can purchase the thing you need right now. If you still don’t have money right now, you can buy it through the buy now and pay later.

This process has incredibly rapid growth. With lots of benefits like zero to low credit instant credit, the market of this technology is going higher. But still, one thing has to say if the consumers can’t afford something, then they don’t have debt.

Author Bio:

Aline Huseby is a Sales & Marketing Manager at ChargeAfter. She would like to share content on Finance Industry like Point of Sales financing, Buy now Pay later, consumer financing & Ecommerce financing for valuable reader.

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