BNPL Emerges as New Favorite Payment Option in MENA-Pakistan

BNPL Emerges as New Favorite Payment Option in MENA-Pakistan

In the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP) region, exponential growth in the e-commerce market is fueling the rise of newer methods of paying, with buy now, pay later (BNPL) arrangements, in particular, emerging as the new favorite payment method.

A survey of more than 13,000 consumers in MENAP conducted by Checkout.com, a payment solution provider supporting businesses, found greater penetration of BNPL arrangements in MENA (24%) than in the UK and Europe (23%) in 2021.

Across MENAP, adoption of BNPL arrangements in 2021 was found to be the highest in Saudi Arabia, where 39% of respondents indicated having used BNPL in the past 12 months, followed by Qatar (34%) and Egypt (28%).

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while penetration only stood at 21%, consumers showed openness to using the payment method. 31% of UAE consumers who indicated having never used BNPL before, said they planned to do so in the next 12 months. A similar trend was observed in Jordan and Bahrain, where the figure stood at 31% and 29%, respectively.

BNPL penetration across MENAP, Source: Checkout.com, 2021

Checkout.com forecasts BNPL penetration in MENAP to continue growing and reach 53% this year.

Forecast BNPL penetration for 2022, Source: Checkout.com, 2021

Rise of digital payments

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