by Jesta I.S. | September 13, 2022
Retail Rendez-Vous is a podcast where technology and retail meet. It features insightful conversations between technology leaders, retail executives and industry experts. Episode 10 is entitled Buy Now, Pay Later: The Risks & Rewards for Retailers & Consumers.
Forecasted to reach US$60 billion in transaction volume by the end of this year, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is the fastest growing payment method in the world. It has found a place in the Gen Z market as a convenient payment scheme that some are positioning as a financial hack. But it’s not all upside; some are concerned that BNPL may cause consumers to accumulate too much debt, pushing them into dire financial straits.
Joining the podcast this week is fintech expert Steven Mu, Director of Partnerships at Citcon. Citcon is a global provider of payment solutions for online, mobile, and in-store applications. Recognized by Texas Instruments with a Supplier Excellence Award, Citcon is a major player in the BNPL space and supplies over 10,000 merchants.
Listen to Episode 10: Buy Now, Pay Later: The Risks & Rewards for Retailers & Consumers >>
“From the retailer perspective, there are some very eye-opening statistics out there. It [BNPL] increases average order size, it increases conversion — as you know in the e-commerce space there’s a lot of cart abandonment — and it helps consumers come back more frequently than they would with traditional payments like cash or credit,” Steven Mu said. “And from a consumer perspective, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword, but it opens up cashflow flexibility. And compared to traditional loans, it’s interest-free lending.”
“The demographics of the consumer using BNPL is really that younger generation, Millennials and Gen Z. About 70% of Gen Z and Millennials have used some sort of BNPL, so that’s really a big target of merchants and BNPL providers,” he added.
“But unfortunately, BNPL has been a target for cybercriminals because of the lack of regulation compared to a credit card. There’s a couple different methods a cybercriminal can use to get in; they can collect a user’s information and act as them, or they can hack into an existing account and rack up a lot of purchases.”
The podcast addresses more key questions, including:
• How are brands leveraging BNPL?
• How can retailers prevent BNPL fraud?
• What makes BNPL attractive to younger customers?
• What effect is BNPL having on consumer debt?
• Who are the key players in the BNPL market?
Tune in on demand via your preferred media platform including Anchor, Spotify and YouTube.
Interested in being a guest speaker in an episode of Retail Rendez-Vous? Email Jesta’s Marketing Department at marketing@jestais.com.
