Buy now, pay later! The three most popular payment methods in Southeast Asia

The trend of shop now, pay later is becoming increasingly popular in Southeast Asia, with Akulaku (Indonesia), hooah and Atome (Singapore) being very popular in the market.

Generation Z and millennial shoppers are driving payments usage across Southeast Asia .

According to a study by Coherent Market Insights , the global buy now, pay later (BNPL) market was valued at $7.3 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $33.6 billion by 2027, growing at an annual rate of 21.2% over the next six years.

The region is expected to be the fastest growing during the forecast period owing to the increase in mobile internet users .

Atome (Singapore)

Atome is a pay now, buy later company in Singapore that allows users to split their bills into three equal payments over two months , without charging any interest and service fees.

Since its launch in 2019, Atome has grown into one of Asia’s largest pay now, buy later platforms. It already works with 3,000 online and offline retailers across nine markets: Singapore , Indonesia , the Philippines , Vietnam , China , Hong Kong , Malaysia , Taiwan and Thailand.

The startup recently inked a partnership with AsiaPay to expand its presence among online and offline merchants in the Asia-Pacific region.

hoolah(Singapore)

Founded in February 2018, hoolah is Asia's leading omnichannel BNPL company headquartered in Singapore. The BNPL provider entered Malaysia in 2019 and has collaborated with global and local merchants.

The platform allows consumers to buy what they need now and then enjoy interest-free repayment within 3 months . Hoolah has received an 8-digit investment in the Series A round led by Allectus Capital, a venture capital firm under private equity firm ICM. The specific amount has not been disclosed.

Akulaku (Indonesia)

Founded in 2016, Akulaku is an Indonesian fintech startup focused on online credit, wealth management , and digital banking. It started out as a virtual credit card provider, then built its own e-commerce platform and expanded into other business lines.

Akulaku's online installment shopping platform offers products ranging from home appliances to travel and mobile phone charging services. It allows users to pay for their purchases in installments without having to hold a credit card. Its market share in the industry is reportedly between 70% and 80%.

As of July 2020, the company has 6 million users and an annual transaction volume of over US$1.5 billion. Akulaku is headquartered in Pasig and has operations in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

Southeast Asia

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