Banking systems are changing, Peoples now don’t want to hold cash or even a simple Physical debit or credit card. The reason is we have already 5 to 10 debit and credit cards from different banks and keeping more cash means increasing the weight of our wallets. Then what is the solution? The Digital Credit.

Digital or Virtual Debit or Credit Card is not a new concept nowadays. You can create your Virtual Debit or Credit card within 5 minutes without stepping out of your home. Even you can open a bank account within 5 minutes. But the question is would get a loan within 5 minutes? It’s a tricky question. More precisely, can you avail of a digital loan from a bank or any financial institution without visiting the Bank?

Opening a savings account in a Bank is not a big task, but sanctioning a Loan is really a big task if you are an ordinary citizen like you and me. You can open a Savings account easily with a Valid PAN or Adhaar Card, but you can not get a loan just by approaching a bank. Because the Bank Authority will analyze several aspects like your Credit Score, your Past Loan track records, net worth, etc. before sanctioning any Loan or Credit limit to you.

To simplify the process of Credit limit appraisal and getting an instant personal loan or credit limit, several fintech companies in India, in partnership with NBFCs, or RBI-approved commercial Banks introduced the Buy Now Pay Later or BNPL Apps in India.

Here, in this article, we will discuss the list of some best Buy Now Pay Later or BNPL apps in India and how Buy Now Pay Later Works.

Before getting into the actual topic, let us have some ideas about the Pay Later or Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Apps and how it works

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What is the Buy Now Pay Later or BNPL

As the word “Buy Now Pay Later” indicates you can buy Now and pay your dues later using the Pay Later or Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) App or sometimes we also call it an instant personal loan app. BNPL App in India is somewhat similar to a credit card where you can pay your dues later after some pre-approved period. The period varies from 14 to 45 days after your actual payment. You can pay the dues in short-term EMI ranges from 3-12 months with or without any interest. 

For example, if You purchase an item with BNPL today with INR 500, with an initial deposit of INR 100, the remaining INR 400 will be paid equally divided into 4 EMIs with INR 100 each. That means you can pay the dues in 4 monthly or weekly installments. The BNPL apps do not generally charge interest up to the approved EMI period. If you fail to pay the dues within the approved period, the BNPL app charges late fees and interest from the date you purchased the item.

It is a kind of instant emergency credit line arranged for you by a Fintech company in partnership with NBFCs. Sometimes commercial banks or Neobanks also provide BNPL services to their selected customers. 

Pay Later or Buy Now Pay Later App can be utilized for a quick emergency fund, to meet some urgent personal requirements, or to purchase any products online when you do not have instant cash or balance in your bank account. Today, you can avail of BNPL services from online shopping websites to Travelling Apps like MakeMyTrip. Recently Google India also launched a small ticket credit line starting from ₹15000 for small business owners.

The basic difference between Credit Cards and BNPL is that with a Credit Card, you can get an interest-free period, before which you have to pay the total dues, otherwise, the bank may charge Late Fees and interest. But, in BNPL, you have the option to pay the dues in EMIs ranging from 3 to 12 months. However, many Credit Cards are nowadays giving the Convert to EMI option for the Credit Card outstanding.

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Pay Later or BNPL is a completely paperless process for getting any quick personal short-term loan or instant digital credit.

How Does BNPL Work

Buy Now Pay Later is a simplified digital credit line process that can be used online or offline as per the requirements of the borrower. The Online BNPL means the credit limit sanctioned by BNPN apps, can be used only for eCommerce Websites or digital payments. The Offline credit limit can be transferred to bank accounts and outstanding can be settled within a fixed time period, ranging from 1-12 months. An example of offline BNPL is the advanced Salary of months provided by many Instant Personal Loan Apps.

The sanctioning process of Credit Limits depends on the Credit Score from Credit Rating Agencies like CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, etc. At the time of signing up on BNPL, the App asks for your PAN and Mobile Number, the Credit Rating Software provides your updated Credit Score, and the CRM Algorithm analyses the 360 database of customers and suggests the probable Credit Limit. 

If you have a good Credit Score, you might get a higher credit limit from Pay Later or the BNPL Service providers. It’s all up to the jurisdiction of “Buy Now Pay Later” service providers or their partnered NBFCs.

The partnered bank or NBFCs processed the Pay Later service from the back end and appraised the limit according to the customer’s creditworthiness. You have to provide a debit eMandate to NACH to directly debit the EMI or monthly Pay Later outstanding from the bank account. 

With the implementation of UPI 2.0, several big eCommerce websites have also started to implement the Buy Now Pay Later option for their App users. One of the many features of UPI 2.0 is the pre-approved debit mandate to debit the Account Later and the customer will have the option to select the Pay Later option at the time of making payment at Payment Gateway. All the “Buy Now Pay Later” apps in India use the UPI Payment Platform to run the Pay Later services.

Best Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Apps in India

As the smartphone user base in India has been increasing every day, banking is also getting more digitalized. Digital Payment is the most convenient option, especially for the Tech-savvy younger generation. 

Pay Later or “Buy Now Pay Later” service is still in the initial stage, but it can be a great alternative to Physical Credit cards in India in the future. As per a report, the BNPL market size could reach 45-50 Billion by 2026. 

Here is the list of some Best Pay Later or Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Apps in India for an instant personal loan, not any particular order

1. Freecharge Pay Later

Freecharge is one of the leading payment cum wallet apps in India and provides in-app Pay Later services for its app users. You can pay your bills, recharge, and shop in more than 25000 outlets using Freecharge Pay Later. You can pay the Pay Later outstanding in the Easy EMI option.

Freecharge, in partnership with Axis Bank, provides the Pay Later services and you may use it in all leading online stores like Swiggy, Zomato, Netmeds, Myntra, etc. Freecharge provides a maximum credit limit of up to Rs.10000 for its selected customers, with zero processing fees.

If you have more than a ₹10000 salary and a CIBIL score of more than 720, you may be eligible for Freecharge BNPL.

Features:

• Get up to ₹10000 instant credit.
• Zero Processing fees. 
• Hassle-free paperless Digital Credit.
• Repayment starts on the 5th of every month.
• Use Freecharge in more than 25000 outlets both offline and online.

Visit here for more details on Freecharge Pay Later

2. Simpl 

Simpl BNPL is a Bangaluru-based startup that first initiated the concept of Buy Now Pay Later in the year 2016. The best thing about Simpl Pay is its transparency. Your bill amount will show the exact same amount that you have paid. No extra hidden charges. The Apps user base has now already crossed the 7M mark today.

With Simpl Pay, you can pay your bill instantly on various merchant websites without logging into your Bank Account. You can use Simpl on more than 26000 merchant websites in India. The Simpl App, unlike most of the BNPL apps, approves your credit limit instantly just after signing up with the mobile number. However, the Simpl app limit may not be very high initially, but enough to pay for all your essential requirements. Simpl can increase the limit according to your app’s usage.

Simpl is one of the few BNPL App, which gets popularity very rapidly due to its offers and discount program across various merchant websites. Several merchants like BookMyShow, Zomato, FreshMenu, and many more integrate Simpl into their payment processing gateway. Here you can see the complete merchant list, where you can use Simpl Pay Digital Credit.

Features:

• Instant Credit Approval.
• Anyone can get BNPL service, even with zero credit history.
• Long lists of merchants where Simpl can be used.
• Zero Joining Fee and easy autopsy setup with UPI debit mandate.
• Referral program.

Sign Up for Simpl here.

3. ZestMoney

ZestMoney is a Bengaluru-based Fintech startup that started its operation in 2016. ZestMoney enables you to purchase high-priced products on Virtual EMI without using any credit card. Partnered with several NBFCs in India, the ZestMoney BNPL App allows you to pay the outstanding dues in 3 to 12-month flexible EMIs. You will get a 0% interest rate if you choose 3 month EMI period.

The sign-up process of ZestMoney is very simple and completely digital, similar to other BNPL Apps. You have to sign up for ZestMoney using your mobile and Email ID. It automatically fetches the PAN if you have a CKYC number, otherwise, you have to provide it manually. Complete the Step-by-step verification process, upload the KYC documents, add your bank account, and you will get an instant credit limit or BNPL limit. You may get a maximum credit limit of up to ₹2.00 lacs on ZestMoney BNPL.

You can pay your ZestMoney EMI dues through UPI, by adding ZestMoney in any UPI Payment Apps like PhonePe or GPay. ZestMoney is one of the most popular BNPL apps in India with more than 10M downloads in Android PlayStore and available in easy EMIs at over 10,000 online & 85,000 offline stores.

ZestMoney BNPL app is now owned by DMI Finance, NBFC arm of DMI group.

Features:

• Complete the Paperless digital Sign-up process.
• Pay dues in flexible EMIs range from 3 to 12 months.
• Zero joining fees.
• Offers BNPL facility both in online and Offline Stores.

Sign Up for ZestMoney BNPL

4. Flipkart Pay Later

Similar to Amazon Pay Later, Flipkart Pay Later is Flipkart’s own Buy Now Pay Later service for its online app users. This Walmart-owned online shopping app, in partnership with IDFC First Bank, provides this BNPL option to its customers, where they can split the amount of purchased items or utility bills with minimum or zero down payments. The split amount can be paid in easy EMI later. You can set up a UPI debit mandate to directly debit the EMI amount from the bank account.

You can get a maximum of ₹1.00 lacs credit limit on Flipkart Pay Later with No Cost EMI, although you may not get the full limit initially. The app increases the credit limit gradually as per your limit usage and timely repayments of previous dues.

The application process for Flipkart Pay Later is very simple, the lending partner bank verifies your CIBIL, KYC with Adhar OTP authentication, and verifies your bank account by depositing Rs.1.00. However, as per RBI guidelines, you have to make your account full KYC verified within 12 months period.

Features:

• Zero joining and processing fees. 
• Instant payment processing.
• Make a payment of dues in easy EMIs with zero or minimum down payments.
• Easy credit limit approval.

Sign Up for Flipkart Pay Later here

5. Amazon Pay Later

Amazon Pay, in partnership with IDFC First Bank, provides in-app pay-later service to its customers mainly for the purchase of online products from the Amazon India website. You can purchase online products using Amazon Pay Later BNPL and pay in 3 to 12 months EMI or the next month without any interest. Amazon Pay Later service does not charge any processing fees or pre-closure fees, it provides an excellent deferred payment option if you are short of cash for purchasing any items.

To avail the Amazon Pay Later, you do not require any credit card, just you need an Active Amazon Account, a Valid PAN card, a Bank Account, and an Adhar card for your address. You must be over 23 years old to avail of the Amazon Pay Later service from Amazon India. 

The lending partner instantly processes the Amazon Pay Later application and provides you an initial credit limit. You can avail of a maximum of ₹60000 as a digital credit limit in a year from Amazon Pay Later as per RBI guidelines. You have to enable the UPI-Auto debit mandate to directly debit the EMI from your bank account every month.

How to register for Amazon Pay Later?

Go to the Amazon Pay Later registration page on your Amazon India Mobile App and follow the instructions. For more details on registration, visit the Amazon India website.

Features:

• Zero processing fees and pre-closure charges.
• Flexible 3 to 12 months easy EMI or next month.
• No Credit Card details are required.
• Cashback and discounts for the payments made through Amazon Pay Later.

6. ICICI Bank Pay Later

ICICI Bank has also integrated the Pay Later service for their selected iMobile, Pockets, and Internet banking users. You can see the Pay Later option in iMobile’s Account and Deposit section. 

ICICI Bank’s PayLater service selects users based on a self-developed algorithm with the help of 360 data analytics and uses its customer database to identify the most suitable person for this service. The PayLater service uses the technology, BHIM UPI 2.0 for making payments on its payment gateway. You will be provided a Pay Later exclusive UPI ID for making payments at the merchant points. You may also use this UPI ID for scan & pay. 

To learn more about the UPI 2.0 version, read the article from here.

ICICI Bank is the first bank in India, to extend this Digital Credit system for its customers. The initial credit limit for Pay Later qualified customers is Rs.20000. Customers can use the Digital Credit limit for online eCommerce websites, hotel booking websites, and other payment gateways. The Pay Later service can also be used at Physical Stores using UPI or Scan & Pay.

You will see the Pay Later option at the ICICI Bank payment gateway at the time of making the payment if you are enabled with the PayLater service.

ICICI Bank has recently integrated its PayLater Option on its Digital Wallet cum Bank Account App Pockets. You can see the Pay Later option just at the bottom left corner of the App.

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For details on ICICI Bank Pay Later service visit here.

Features:

• Exclusive UPI ID for Pay Later.
• Integrated with ICICI Bank’s iMobile App.
• 45-day interest-free period. 

7. LazyPay

Launched in April 2017, the LazyPay service offered by PayU India, to capture the growing online Tech-savvy mobile users in India. Lazypay is one of the best “Buy Now Pay Later” apps in India and gaining popularity every day due to its various discounts and offers programs on several eCommerce websites in India.

This PayU-owned BNPL app was banned by Meity which was revoked later. You can avail of the LazyPay BNPL in more than 45000 merchant outlets in India, here you can find the complete lists.

LazyPay, similar to Simpl BNPL Apps,  provides an instant digital credit limit, although the limit may be initially low, but can be increased later on if your repayment behavior is good. To get a higher credit limit, you have to make the account fully KYC-verified. You can get a 14-day interest-free period to pay the dues in full or in EMIs. 

The LazyPay BNPL also has an instant digital personal loan of up to ₹5.00 Lacs, called XpressCash, which can be paid in EMIs. 

The lending partner of LazyPay is PayU Finance, an NBFC registered under RBI.

Get LazyPay for Android and iOS.

Features:

• Very popular BNPL App, integrated with over 45000 merchant website’s payment gateway.
• Instant Digital Personal Loan up to Rs.5.00 Lacs.
• Instant approval of credit limit.
• 14-day interest-free periods.

8. Slice

Sign Up for Slice here.

9. Axio Pay Later

Axio, formerly Capital Float is one of the leading consumer digital lending companies or NBFC in India, providing credit management services to Amazon Pay Later App. The Axio app provides 3-in-1 services in a single place, – Expense Tracker, Pay Later, and Digital Personal Loan.  The activation process of Axio BNPL is very simple, like other Pay Later Apps. 

Just After signing in with your mobile number, you will find the Pay Later option, which can be activated instantly by completing the KYC process. The Axio App verifies the PAN with NSDL, and CKYC from the Central Registry (if you have done KYC earlier) or OTP-based Adhar verification, digitally signing the terms and conditions by Adhar eSign. The Axio sanctions you a credit limit within a few minutes, and the limit will show on the screen. The credit limit can be used in thousands of popular merchant outlets across India and can be paid in EMIs. You can also track your Amazon Pay Later balance from Axio BNPL App.

Features:

• Zero processing and pre-closure charges.
• Track Expenses.
• Instant Credit Approval.
• Complete paperless digital sanctioning process.

Sign Up for Axio here

10. Paytm Postpaid Buy Now Pay Later

Paytm, India’s largest eWallet and third largest UPI App, in partnership with two NBFCs namely Aditya Birla Capital and SMFG India Credit, provides Buy Now Pay Later facilities to its app users.

The basic concept of this app is similar to the other BNPL apps in India, the Paytm app users get 30 interest-free periods to the dues. The initial credit limit starts from ₹500 and you may get a maximum of ₹60000 as Buy Now Pay Later limits according to your repayments behavior.

The process of availing BNPL limit is similar to other BNPL apps, you need a PAN and Adhar, and complete the verification process through Adhaar OTP authentication or verification of CKYC by Paytm Postpaid’s lending partners. To avail of the BNPL service, you must be 20 years old or older. 

You will get a statement on the 1st day of the month by an SMS and you have to pay your dues by the 7th of the month. If you pay your dues timely, then you may get an enhanced credit limit in the future.

Paytm Postpaid BNPL service can be availed without any Credit Score or proof of employment. Therefore, it’s an excellent tool for students to build up credit history.

You will find the Paytm Postpaid icon on the home page to access the BNPL service of Paytm.

For more details on Paytm Postpaid BNPL visit here.

Features:

• 30-day interest-free period.
• Zero joining Fees.
• Can be availed without any credit score.
• Maximum Credit limit ₹60000.
• Use Paytm Postpaid at any shop where QR or UPI payments are accepted.

Sign Up for Paytm Postpaid

11. PostPe

PostPe, launched by Bengaluru-based Fintech company BharatPe, is one of the well-known and best Buy Now Pay Later apps in India with more than 5M downloads in the Android Play Store. The onboarding process of PostPe is very simple and similar to other BNPL apps operating in India. The app can be used as a UPI Payment App to transfer money between bank accounts.

You can Scan the PostPe app in more than 70 lakh merchant outlets in India where BharatPe QR is used. PostPe also offers a lifetime Free contactless BNPL card called PostPe Card. The Visa-powered PostPe Card can be used both in online and Offline mode. You will get a maximum credit limit of up to ₹3.00 lacs on your PostPe Credit card. You will get interest interest-free period of 30 days with an option to convert it to flexible EMIs.

Features:

• 30-day interest-free period.
• Lifetime free PostPe Credit Card can be used both online and offline.
• Zero Processing fees on digital lending.
• Transfer money between bank accounts.
• Instant Scan & Pay using BharatPe QRs.

Sing Up for PostPe here.

12. MobiKwik ZIP

One of the leading mobile wallets and payment apps in India, Mobikwik also offers the “Buy Now Pay Later” service to its app users. The name of their BNPL facility is Mobikwik ZIP, where you will get a 30-day interest-free credit limit of up to ₹60000 to pay your bills, and utility payments instantly. 

The process of opening the Mobikwik ZIP account is the same as Paytm Postpaid. To start the Mobikwik ZIP service, first, you have to log into the Mobikwik App, link your bank account, and create a Mobikwik UPI ID. Then you have to select the ZIP icon showing on the home page. 

You can make payments in more than 1 lacs merchant stores using Mobikwik Pay by using Scan & Pay methods without any OTP during checkout. 

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The approval process of Mobikwik ZIP is instant and you can get Mobikwik ZIP Pay Later credit limit even without any credit history. This is also an excellent BNPL app for students to build good credit scores.

For details on the Mobikwik Pay Later Loan approval process visit here.

Features:

• 30-day interest-free credit limit.
• Approval without a credit history.
• Maximum limit up to ₹60000.
• Instant checkout without any requirements of OTP.

Download the Mobikwik App for Android & iOS.

13. Freo Pay

Freo Pay, part of one of India’s leading consumer-faced Neobank Freo Money, also offers Pay Later facilities to its users. The maximum credit limit offered by Freo Pay is ₹10000 in partnership with NBFCs.

You can easily avail Freo Pay Credit limit by downloading the app from the Play Store or App Store and completing the onboarding process with Adhar and PAN. You will get an exclusive Freo Pay UPI ID which can be used for Scan & Pay in merchant stores. The Freo Pay BNPL can also be used online in payments of utility bills, recharges, or shopping. The maximum interest-free period of Freo Pay is 30 days.

Features:

• Interest-free periods of 30 days.
• Freo Pay BNPL App can be used without any credit score.
• Maximum limit Rs.10000.

Sign Up for Freo Pay here.

14. Ola Money Postpaid

Ola money postpaid is the in-house Pay Laters service offered by the Ola Cab App users to pay for their cab riding later. Ola Money sets a maximum credit line up to ₹5000, and the dues have to be cleared within 15/30 days according to the billing cycles. There is no EMI option for settling the dues. If you fail to clear the dues within the billing cycle, your number will be blocked by Ola and you won’t use the app in the future.

Ola Money postpaid was mainly introduced to enable the app users a hassle-free ride without worrying about paying the cab bill instantly. You can apply for the Ola Money Postpaid from the profile section of the Ola App. However, Ola Money has a separate Ola Money Postpaid app, but the customer rating is not very good.

The Ola Money Postpaid also offers numerous cashback and discounts with more than 300 merchant websites in India. You may also apply for the Ola Money co-branded credit card with SBI Card and earn 7% rewards on your riding on Ola Cab. For more details visit here.

Features:

• Interest-free credit period up to 30 days.
• Offers and discounts with 300+ merchant websites.
• Fast & hassle-free payments with the Ola Money Postpaid credit line.

Sign Up for Ola Money

Final Words

Digital or Virtual Credit is the future of lending. All the lending processes from appraisal to sanctioning and documentation are getting digitalized now. Therefore, Buy Now Pay Later apps can be a game changer in the near future, as people get instant credit without any long sanctioning process. 

As the online eCommerce market in India is growing every day, people need instant credit with flexible EMI and less procedural hassles. The Pay Later or Buy Now Pay Later apps may fulfill the gap of instant credit requirements.

BNPL or Digital Credit can be the best alternative to Physical Credit cards in the future. However, my recommendation is to use the Buy Now Pay Later app cautiously as it can affect your credit score and a bad credit score may create a hindrance in your future credit requirements.

If you have any other recommendations or want to add any more Pay Later App, then please share it with us below.

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