Paylater services continue to take off. In the midst of weakening purchasing power, paylater services can be a short-term solution to financial needs.
But of course, we still need to be wise in our actions. While this "buy now pay later" shopping method is an opportunity, shoppers - including entrepreneurs shopping for goods for their businesses - need to remain vigilant and carefully watch out for potential bad credit risks that may occur.
Data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) shows that Indonesian people's debt through the buy now pay later (BNPL) or paylater scheme in banks reached IDR 22.99 trillion in June 2025; growing 29.75% year on year (YoY). Meanwhile, public debt from paylater in finance companies in June 2025 reached IDR 8.56 trillion - a growth of 56.26%.
Institute for Development of Economics & Finance (Indef) Senior Economist Aviliani said paylater is an easy financial solution. Its payment method allows users to purchase goods or services without having to pay directly. Users only need to pay a certain amount of down payment, then the rest of the bill will be paid gradually within a certain period of time.
"Paylater has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially among the younger generation. This is because paylater offers convenience and flexibility in shopping," he said, Thursday (14/8/2025).
However, paylater also comes with a number of risks that you need to be aware of. One of the biggest risks is the risk of default. If a user is unable to pay their bill, then they will be subject to high penalties and interest.
In addition, paylater can also encourage consumptive behavior. Users may be more easily tempted to buy goods or services they don't need, just because they can pay for them later.
Chairman of the Fintech Funding Association (AFPI) Entjik Djafar said that paylater recorded rapid growth due to its convenience as a short-term solution for public funding needs.
"Paylater is in demand because the registration process is fairly easy and you can pay later," Entjik told SUAR (13/8/2025).
Citing Kredivo and Katadata Insight Center 2024 research entitled Paylater User Behavior Report 2024, it appears that the majority of Kredibo users use paylater for truly important needs such as grocery shopping (66.9%) and children and household needs (10.1%).
This means that if managed properly, paylater can be a smart tool for families to manage their finances. That's why it's very important for families to continue to increase their understanding of digital finance.
The increase in paylater usage also occurred during certain festival moments, for example during the Ramadan period yesterday. SVP Marketing & Communications Kredivo Indina Andamari said, along with the trend of increasing public spending during Ramadan, Kredivo has also recorded a significant increase in transactions in this period over the past few years. This increase also occurred along with the increasingly widespread adoption of paylater services .
During Ramadan 2024, Kredivo users' offline shopping transactions increased up to three times compared to Ramadan 2023. The peak of transactions occurred in the second week of Ramadan. Kredivo usage outside Jabodetabek also grew significantly, recording a 25% increase in the same period.
Not only that, the number of transactions outside Java Island jumped by 37%. During Ramadan 2024, the most purchased product categories included credit & vouchers, health & beauty, and fashion. In terms of user profile, 71% of transactions were made by users aged 20 years-35 years.
Opportunities for banks
OJK Banking Supervisory Executive Head Dian Ediana Rae said BNPL credit, aka paylater, contributed 0.28% of total national banking credit. "The number of bank paylater accounts recorded a significant increase to 26.96 million users," said Dian at the OJK press conference, last week (4/8).
Dian said, BNPL loans continue to show a growth trend every year so it needs to be watched out to avoid bad credit. Overall, OJK reported that bank credit growth in June 2025 was recorded at only 7.77% on an annual basis or to around Rp 8,059.79 trillion.
By type of use, investment loans grew the highest at 12.53%. This was followed by consumption loans of 8.49%. Meanwhile, working capital loans grew by 4.45% (YoY).
"In terms of ownership, domestic national private commercial banks grew the highest, at 10.78% (YoY)," said Dian.
Based on the debtor category, said Dian, corporate loans grew by 10.78%. Meanwhile, UMKM loans grew by a tiny 2.18%, amidst banking efforts that focused on restoring the quality of UMKM loans.
PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA) noted that BCA's buy now pay later (BNPL) or paylater service has increased significantly since its launch in October 2023. EVP Transaction Banking Business Development BCA, I Ketut Alam Wangsawijaya, said the outstanding value of BCA' s paylater loans reached Rp 339 billion as of January 31, 2025. This figure grew by 148% on an annual basis (YoY).
"This is certainly an encouraging development because the age of the paylater since launchingis more than one year in October 2023," he said.
Meanwhile, the number of BCA paylater users has reached 150,000. This figure has grown compared to the previous 100,000 users.
Alam stated that the ratio of non-performing loans from BCA's paylater is also still well maintained. However, he could not mention in detail. "We cannot mention how much the credit quality value is. Only from a level that we think is still manageable," he argued.
Quoted on BCA's official website, BCA paylater has a credit limit of up to Rp 20 million with interest rates of up to 2% flat per month for terms or tenors of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months.
