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

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Listed:
  • Wenlong Bian
  • Lin William Cong
  • Yang Ji

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenlong Bian & Lin William Cong & Yang Ji, 2024. "The Rise of E-Wallet Super-Apps and Buy-Now-Pay-Later," NBER Working Papers 33178, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33178
    Note: CF DEV ME PR
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    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth

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