Make smarter decisions on the BNPL market

BNPL is now part of everyday shopping, but it's growing up the hard way: regulators want it treated like credit, and investors want proof it can make money.

We've found a lot of interesting signals. For example, in July 2026, new UK rules came into force: BNPL lenders now answer to the Financial Conduct Authority and must check that each customer can afford what they borrow. In February 2026, New York's financial regulator proposed rules that would require a license and cap most late fees at $8. And that same month, Klarna's shares fell 25% in a day after a surprise quarterly loss, leaving them about 65% below their IPO price. BNPL is now judged like a lender, by regulators and by the stock market alike.

In this section, we look at what the new rules change for providers and merchants, why investors have cooled on some BNPL names, and where growth is still coming from.

Shoppers want to spread a cost without paying card interest. Merchants want fewer abandoned carts and bigger baskets.

We compare six kinds of BNPL companies, from pay-in-4 apps and monthly plans to card-linked installments, travel financing and white-label platforms for banks. Their customers include online stores, big retailers, airlines, banks and shoppers themselves. For each, we rank the pains that matter most, like checkout drop-off, high merchant fees and shoppers who stack several plans at once.

This shows what a merchant will pay for, what a shopper actually values, and where the two don't line up.

Merchant fees, interest on longer plans, late fees, card interchange, advertising to shoppers and fees for white-label software: BNPL providers make money in several ways.

We compare who pays, and who is on the hook when a shopper stops paying. On pay-in-4, the merchant pays most of the bill and the provider absorbs the losses. Longer plans earn interest but need more capital and closer checks. Card-linked installments earn less per purchase but cost little to win. And caps on late fees, like the one proposed in New York, cut income some providers rely on.

You'll see which models still earn money after funding costs, defaults and lower merchant fees, and which ones depend on fees regulators are now trimming.

A growth rate on its own says little here. What matters is why more people split their payments, and where they now do it.

Some drivers are plain to see: tight household budgets, merchants chasing more completed sales, and BNPL moving into stores, groceries and bills. Others feed each other. More shoppers bring in more merchants. More merchants turn the app into a place to shop. And more repayment data helps providers approve the right people and lose less.

Before building or investing, you should know what keeps shoppers coming back without falling behind, and what merchants will keep paying once BNPL is everywhere.

Klarna and Afterpay are the names most shoppers know, but they're only a slice of the BNPL market.

Some of the most interesting players are hard to see at checkout. Some only finance dental work, car repairs or flights. Others run the installment option inside a bank's app, sell white-label BNPL to retailers, or serve shoppers in the Gulf, Latin America or Southeast Asia.

They're hard to spot because the shopper often sees the merchant's or the bank's name, not theirs. And a few big players handle most of the volume, so smaller ones rarely make the headlines.

Below, you'll find the market grids and ecosystem maps we've built to show who lends, who powers the checkout and where new players are getting in.

Sezzle, Zip, Tabby… a few BNPL providers have built real businesses away from the biggest names.

Sezzle focuses on US shoppers and has grown profitably, with paid subscriptions on top of merchant fees. Zip, from Australia, now makes most of its money in the US. Tabby has become a leading BNPL provider in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Each found a clear place to play, though none is safe from new rules or a rise in late payments.

We'll look at how these teams picked their markets, kept losses in check, and stayed independent next to much bigger rivals.