The Rise of E-Wallet Super-Apps and Buy-Now-Pay-Later

Wenlong Bian, Lin Cong and Yang Ji

No 33178, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The rise of super-app digital wallets provides not only a conduit to banks but also internal payment options, including Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL). We examine, for the first time, transactions matched with merchant and consumer information, from a leading e-wallet super-app, and complement the analyses with a randomized experiment. We document that BNPL serves as a dominant form of “digital cash” and expands payment and credit access to underserved consumers without increasing indebtedness or delinquencies despite their spending more. The findings crucially depend on the cross-sale capacity and inherent disciplinary incentives of super-app ecosystems. Our findings underscore the synergy between credit and payments and provide novel insights for economies transitioning to cashless via super-app-driven platforms, where FinTech credit sees the greatest potential.

JEL-codes: E42 G20 G23 G51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-11
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