Swipe now, sigh about the cost later: understanding the effects of BNPL services on the overall well-being of Indian customers

Purpose Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a novel, increasingly popular financial service system that allows customers to pay for a product in interest-free instalments. This paper aims to determine the factors affecting BNPL usage and their effect on customers’ financial and overall well-being. Design/methodology/approach This paper covers two cross-sectional quantitative surveys across genders. In total, 804 respondents, containing 413 males and 391 females, were considered for this study. The “partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM)” was applied to test the hypotheses. Findings The results exhibited that financial self-control reduces BNPL usage; however, customer trust and impulsive buying increase BNPL usage across genders. Furthermore, transaction convenience reduces BNPL usage in male customers but enhances BNPL usage in female customers. Notably, BNPL usage is related to increased financial well-being (“i.e. current money management stress, expected future financial security”) and overall well-being. Likewise, “current money management stress” negatively impacts, while “expected future financial security” positively affects customers’ overall well-being. Practical implications This paper has a unique perspective on the growing field of BNPL research, inspiring the understanding of how BNPL services impact overall well-being across genders. Given the adverse impact of BNPL use on customers’ financial and overall well-being, BNPL service providers are advised to take responsibility for preventing customers from falling into a debt cycle and promoting responsible purchasing habits. Originality/value The novel research model contributes to earlier knowledge by delivering empirical insights to analyze the effect of proposed antecedents on BNPL usage among customers. According to the researchers, this paper is the early empirical effort to investigate how BNPL services affect customers’ overall well-being in India’s National Capital Region (NCR).