The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Phenomenon Among Young People, Benefit or Time Bomb

Abstract

Amidst the euphoria of the digital era, paylater has become a prominent financial phenomenon by changing the way people shop. It is possible that this useful and easy-to-use feature is very attractive to the public. The concept of shopping first and paying later (Buy Now Pay Later / BNPL) has changed the way people buy goods, especially through e-Commerce and online travel platforms such as Shopee, Tokopedia, Lazada, BliBli, Traveloka and Tiket.com. Quoted from (Ramadhani, 2025) BNPL is still concentrated on the island of Java, especially in Jabodetabek with a portion of 31.71%, there is still a lot of room to grow in other areas. In terms of users, the younger generation (Gen Z and Millennials) are still dominant as BNPL debtors. In detail, millennials with a birth range of 1981-1996 dominate by 48.27%. Then gen-Z who were born between 1997-2012 were recorded at 39.94%. The rest of generation X born in 1965-1980 contributed 11.35%. Behind the perceived convenience, there are many challenges that can affect the Indonesian economy. According to data collected by PEFINDO Credit Bureau (IdScore), until November 2024, BNPL facilities grew by 24.53% annually (year-on-year/yoy), with a total credit portfolio value reaching IDR 35.14 trillion with 3.21% of the total being non-performing loans or around 1.15 trillion not yet paid by consumers. According to the Kompas daily news article in (2023) (Gandhawangi, 2023) entitled "Don't Be Lulled by Paylater", paylater can cause excessive shopping addiction. Young people are the main victims of this trait. Who is not lulled by the one-click feature and can shop as much as they want without thinking about payment. This phenomenon is part of social change in the economic sector, where traditional payments are replaced by digital payments that can be made after purchase. Therefore, it is important to examine these changes to find the best way to mitigate their negative impact