At least one out of three Filipinos or thirty six percent of those using ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) services opted for smaller purchases of up to P5,000, acquiring mainly electronics and household appliances, according to latest data from financial app UnaCash.
The rest or 26 percent of BNPL users averaged purchases ranging from P5,001 to P10,000 while 19 percent bought in the P10,001 to P20,000 range.
Normally, BNPL purchases accounted for 14 percent to 42 percent of Filipino respondents' average monthly income.
The size of a BNPL check is about P13,500 while the monthly income of respondents is P32,000.
The mean age of respondents is 36.6 years, slightly higher than the mean age of the employed population across the country as of July 2022, which is 31.5 years.
This conforms to expectations that older Filipinos with a higher level of material security actively use modern fintech solutions.
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Significantly, most Filipino BNPL users employ the payment mode to acquire durable goods - mainly electronics and household appliances, accounting for 39 percent of items bought.
Household and interior items account for 21 percent of BNL purchases; food, 15 percent; medicines and medical services, seven percent; cosmetics and perfumes, six percent; travel vouchers, five percent; goods for hobbies and entertainment, four percent.
BNPL is lenient when it comes to official declaration of income and employment.
Although 87 percent of BNL users are contract workers, 12 percent of respondents are self-employed.
The bulk, 96 percent of respondents do their online shopping mainly through a smartphone, while the remaining four percent use other gadgets.
Not surprising, considering that the smartphone is steadily becoming an important universal financial tool.
Convenience remains the determining factor, with integrated BNPL services in online stores seeing the most demand as a payment option with instalments.
Most, or 61 percent of consumers choose to use BNL because they need extra money.
Another 20 percent borrow from friends and relatives while 14 percent pay with a credit card.
The amount borrowed in BNPL installments is offset by the frequency of purchases, with 48 percent of respondents using BNPL services at least once a month.
UnaCash is a financial app allowing unbanked users to open a credit line through their mobile phones.
Users can cash out money through a bank or partner outlet or make purchases with partner merchants integrated in the app.
As of October, 2022, UnaCash has more than 780,000 registrations and an average of 50,000 downloads per month.