Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is Making it Possible for People in Southeast Asia to Engage in the Global Economy
JAKARTA, TK, 2022 – Akulaku (“Akulaku” or “the Company”), a leading digital banking and finance platform, is expanding the offerings on its Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform Akulaku PayLater. In addition, starting in June, Akulaku is partnering with over 4000 platforms and stores across Southeast Asia, including Bukalapak, JD.ID, Tiket, and Cinema XXI, to offer promotions marking Akulaku’s 6th anniversary.
As the rate of credit card penetration in Southeast Asia remains low, Akulaku has stepped in to offer an accessible and convenient credit option for consumers. By leveraging machine learning to guide lending decisions and detect fraud, Akulaku can offer lines of credit to those excluded from traditional finance. Akulaku PayLater, launched earlier this year, has quickly become an essential digital product to help customers manage their finances, allowing people with little to no credit history to access the goods they need now and pay in manageable increments over time. The Akulaku PayLater system is meeting the increasing demand for flexible payment plans and installment purchasing.
As BNPL has taken off globally since the COVID-19 pandemic, fintech companies like Akulaku have been investing in expanding access to BNPL offerings, as well as bridging offline shopping and online payments through BNPL. Akulaku is empowering consumers through BNPL, with more than 4,000 merchants already online in the Akulaku PayLater system. With PayLater, merchants can unlock consumer purchasing power by eliminating the barrier of a high one-time payment.
Akulaku PayLater is available in stores and across industries including convenience stores, cinemas, and more, making it a convenient payment option for both offline and in-person purchases. To date, customers have used Akulaku PayLater in over 40,000 offline stores throughout Indonesia. Most recently, Akulaku rolled out a new instant checkout feature, allowing users to bundle their logins for merchant platforms and PayLater. The new instant checkout feature enhances the seamless consumer experience that continues to draw customers to the Akulaku PayLater platform.
“Indonesia’s BNPL sector has a strong future,” said Akulaku’s CFO, Fan Zhang. “As countries in Southeast Asia continue to recover post-COVID-19 lockdowns, the overall credit market will continue to grow at an expedited rate. Akulaku is committed to innovation through enhancing our core tech and risk capabilities, as well as by developing additional technological and financial products and services. We plan to expand our partnerships with merchants both online and offline in the coming years.”
Akulaku is currently focused on expanding access to instant checkout functionality with BNPL, as instant checkout improves the success rate of payments and provides benefits to the bottom line for Indonesian merchants. Over the next two years, Akulaku aims to serve 10,000 online merchants and over 100,000 offline stores with BNPL.
About Akulaku
Akulaku is a leading banking and digital finance platform in Southeast Asia, with a presence in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Akulaku exists to help meet the daily financial needs of underserved customers in emerging markets through digital banking, digital financing, digital investment, and insurance brokerage services. In addition to the Akulaku virtual credit card and ecommerce platform, the company operates Asetku, an online wealth management platform, and Neobank, a mobile digital bank supported by Bank Neo Commerce. Akulaku’s mission is to serve 50 million users across Southeast Asia by the year 2025.