Buy Now Pay Later schemes are increasingly popular in Singapore, offering interest-free instalments. Unlike credit card instalment plans, they do not require an actual credit card. However, with the market getting increasingly saturated, which one offers the best value-for-money? Which is the best Buy Now Pay Later scheme in Singapore? We do the breakdown for you.
Table of Contents
What are BNPL schemes?
Buy now pay later (BNPL) schemes are payment plans that allow you to split your payment over a short-term period, interest-free. As long as you make your repayment within the stipulated time frame, you’re good to go. However, if you’re tight on cash, you may want to be wary of the late payment fees, which can cost quite a pretty penny!
Benefits of BNPL for consumers
- Flexibility
- Increased accessibility
- Affordability of bigger ticket purchases
BNPL providers in Singapore
| Tenure | Late Payment Fee | |
| Zip | 4 Fortnights | $10, plus $6 admin fee |
| Atome | 3 Months | $15, up to $30 |
| Hoolah | 3 Months | $5 for orders under $99, $15 for orders between $100 to $999.99, and $30 for orders over $1,000 |
| Pace | 3 Months | $10, with $1 for each additional day of missed payment. Orders above $40 incur a late fee of 25% the item value, or $60, depending on which is lower |
| Rely | 3 Months or 4 Fortnights | $1-$40 |
| Grab PayLater | 4 Months | $10 for every missed payment |
| FavePay Later | 3 Months | 1.5% of outstanding purchase value |
Zip
- Tenure: 4 Fortnights
- Late Payment Fee: $10, plus $6 admin fee
The newest player in the Singapore market, Zip already has an impressive track record. Unlike other players, Zip is already well-rooted in the global market, and Singapore is its first venture in South East Asia. It has a shorter tenure period of six weeks. Payments are split into four payments over six weeks, with payment being deducted every two weeks. In terms of late fees, $10 will be charged for, as well as a $6 admin fee.
While Zip currently offers short-term BNPL financing for lower value items, it is looking to introduce longer-term BNPL financing for higher value items, offering more flexibility in the long run. This is a unique feature which current competitors do not provide.
Zip is partners with Singtel Dash, which offer you Dash points in return when you spend with Zip. Other partners include Klook, Prism+, and us! Vaniday is pleased to be partnering with Zip to offer you BNPL on your beauty and wellness bookings.
Atome
- Tenure: 3 Months
- Late Payment Fee: $15, up to $30
One of the earliest players in the Singapore BNPL market, Atome. A tenure of three months, in which three payments are made. It offers a simple late payment fee structure — miss a payment and you’ll be charged $15. If you don’t pay the outstanding within the prevailing month, an additional $15 will be charged.
Atome has quite a sizeable online and in-store presence. Notable partner merchants include Zalora, SHEIN, Secretlab, Sephora, and Charles & Keith.
Hoolah
- Tenure: 3 Months
- Late Payment Fee: $5 for orders under $99, $15 for orders between $100 to $999.99, and $30 for orders over $1,000
Another one of the most well-known BNPL players, Hoolah also has a tenure of three months. Missed a payment? Unlike Atome, Hoolah’s late payment charges are tiered.You’ll be looking at late fees of $5 for orders under $99, $15 for orders between $100 to $999.99, and $30 for orders over $1,000.
It has partnered with big names such as Zalora, JD Sports, Zenyum, and Secretlab. One of the earliest and most prominent BNPL players for sure.
Pace
- Tenure: 3 Months
- Late Payment Fee: $10, with $1 for each additional day of missed payment. Orders above $40 incur a late fee of 25% the item value, or $60, depending on which is lower
Just like the previous providers, Pace offers a tenure of three months. However, Pace’s late payment scheme can be quite. There is an initial $10 late fee, which increases by $1 for each day of late payment. Be careful if you’re making orders above $40 — late fees will be 25% of the original order value or $60, whichever is less.
Pace is quite a popular choice amongst beauty and wellness salons in Singapore, with notable partners including Strip, Spa Espirit, iHerb, and Myprotein.
Rely
- Tenure: 3 Months or 4 Fortnights
- Late Payment Fee: $1-$40
Payments are split over three months or four fortnights (six weeks). A late payment fee of $1–$40 is levied on late repayments depending on your item value, however, what exactly you’ll be paying is unclear.
Another popular choice for lifestyle brands, Rely is partnering with Omnidesk, Zalora, JD Sports, Qoo10, and Miss Fit, to name a few.
Grab PayLater
- Tenure: 4 Months
- Late Payment Fee: $10 for every missed payment
Grab PayLater allows you to split your purchases in four instalments. While many users choose to use Grab as they are able to redeem points, the PayLater option does not allow you to do so. If you miss a payment, your Grab wallet will be disabled. It costs a $10 fee for reactivation of the wallet. You may also choose to use Grab PayLater Postpaid, which allows you to pay the lump sum in the following month. Grab PayLater is only available online and is a popular option within many local companies.
FavePay Later
- Tenure: 3 Months
- Late Payment Fee: 1.5% of outstanding purchase value
Fave is another fintech platform, which also has an integrated e-wallet and ecosystem built into its app. This feature is available across all FavePay merchants in Singapore. Its extensive merchant list include Pandora, Marks & Spencer, Best Denki, Puma, GNC and more. On the downside, it only credit cards can be linked to use the feature.
Conclusion
We’d definitely go with BNPL schemes that make their late fees transparent and known to consumers. Ultimately, it also depends on which BNPL player your chosen retailer partners with. However, keep your options open as some retailers do offer multiple BNPL player options.
